Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has revealed the mistake that Jurgen Klopp has made with Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara as the Spaniard struggles to adapt to the Premier League.
Thiago arrived at Anfield from Bayern Munich last September, but he has failed to hit his stride in the top-flight this campaign.
Having won two Champions Leagues over the course of his career, the signing of Thiago appeared to significantly boost Liverpool’s midfield options.
But the move has not turned out as Klopp would have hoped, with the 29-year-old failing to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
His poor form continued on Monday night against Wolves, before he was eventually taken off for Naby Keita with 23 minutes to play.
And Carragher believes that the constant changing of Thiago’s position, with the former Barcelona player making 12 appearances in central midfield and seven outings in a deeper role, is the cause of his problems.
“Yeah, I think that's pretty obvious. There's no doubt about that when you see him come in and you see him play,” Carragher said when asked if Thiago was more suited to the Champions League on The Robbie Fowler Podcast.
“I actually feel sorry for him a little bit because he's played two or three different roles within midfield. He's played the deepest position, now he's playing a little bit higher.
“I think he was very good against Leipzig and you think of that knock-on effect of having Fabinho next to him and what that will do to his game.
“Fabinho's as good as anyone in Europe in that holding midfield role and I think we saw a glimpse of what Thiago can do going forward.”
Despite the return of Fabinho to Liverpool’s midfield, Carragher does not believe that Thiago will substantially improve next season.
“I don't think we're going to see a different Thiago next season when everyone's fit and firing because I actually thing he's had some good games,” Carragher said.
“He's great with the ball but he's not great without the ball and I don't think that's going to change, he gives silly fouls away, he's not great when the game gets stretched.
“The problem he's had is Liverpool's games have become stretched this season because they've been losing.”
