Rooney prays Liverpool don’t sign ‘one of best midfielders’

Matt Stead

Wayne Rooney says ‘it would be great to see’ Liverpool target Thiago Alcantara in the Premier League.

Thiago has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool throughout the summer, with some reports suggesting he had even agreed a four-year contract ahead of a move to Anfield

The Premier League champions have reservations over spending £23m or so on a 29-year-old with less than 12 months left on his Bayern Munich deal, however, particularly in the current economic climate.

Manchester City and even Arsenal are said to have joined the fray for Thiago and Rooney feels his style of play would be suited to the English game.

‘He almost came to United in 2013 and now Liverpool are linked with him,’ he wrote in his column for The Sunday Times.

‘He’s one of the best midfielders around – I just hope he doesn’t go there!

‘He can take the ball, be composed on it, keep things ticking over – and he’ll put his foot in. He’s an all-round midfielder, really, with a bit of everything.

‘He backs up that Bayern press and he drops in between the centre halves to take the ball yet can also join in when they’re playing around the other box too.

‘He’s a great player. It would be great to see him in the Premier League, actually.’

Liverpool have been active in the transfer market already this summer, bringing in Olympiakos left-back Kostas Tsimikas for £11.75m.

The Greek played his first game for the club in a pre-season friendly victory over Stuttgart on Saturday and was set his “next challenge” by Jurgen Klopp in the aftermath.

The manager added: “He is a pretty quick player and pretty confident, how you will hear in his interview, but he is a good player – a really good player – and he did well.”