Liverpool legend John Barnes has warned Thiago he will have to adapt to the Reds’ style off the ball if he makes the move to Anfield.
The Bayern Munich midfielder continues to be heavily linked with a move to Merseyside this summer, with the Bundesliga champions thought to be keen on cashing in on the 29-year-old.
It has been claimed Bayern would be willing to sell Thiago for around £30m, although the ECHO understands the club have no plans of making a move for the player at this present time.
With speculation increasing though, Thiago’s departure from Bayern looks ever more likely and, speaking to BonusCodeBets, Barnes has issued a warning to the Spain international should he end up joining the Reds.
“Thiago Alcantara is a great player,” Barnes said. “If he is to come to Liverpool, he will evolve in the way they're going to play.
“If he was to be one of the three starting midfield players, he would be the more technical and attacking-minded than any of them, that will be great. In terms of creativity, being on the ball and keeping hold of the ball, he is one of the best.
“Out of possession however, he's obviously not going to be as dynamic as our current three midfield players. But that’s the way we’re going to play him, if he comes in, he will certainly play regularly for sure.
“There’s a problem nowadays with people criticising Liverpool, and what has been thrown at us is that we have a lack of creativity in midfield. What I've always said is that with a lack of creativity in midfield, you lean more on your forward players.
“Liverpool are 25 points better than everybody else, but, maybe if he (Thiago) plays more regularly, he's going to be a main player in the team, and we could lose that dynamism. That’s how I could see Thiago fitting in at Liverpool.”
Barnes added: “As much as he’s a fabulous player, he’s not too great without the ball. It would be like having Coutinho back. As good as a player he is, he might upset the flow of the way that the team plays.
“They're completely different to each other but they're both very technical. Yeah, we have a lot of the ball, but without possession, these players don’t offer you much defensively, certainly not as much as the four or five midfielders that Liverpool have at the moment.”
