Jamie Carragher said Liverpool fans could not be ‘stripped’ by Thiago Alcantara’s first appearance, but the Spaniard’s registration would strengthen the impressive midfield engine room available for Jurgen Klopp.
Thiago was officially unveiled as a Liverpool player on Friday, and made his debut by coming off the bench at half-time to produce an impressive shift in midfield during a 2-0 win at Chelsea.
While he portrayed the Spaniard as very promising, Sky Sports pundit Keraghar insisted that expectations must be kept in mind, adding that the player could be more fit in a more advanced position than seen on Stamford Bridge.
“I will not play with 10 men against Chelsea,” he said after the game.
“The interesting thing for me is that Klopp said before the game that he was coming from a system of two midfield players, and the number 10 against him.
“Just a few times today, when you’re in this holding role, you can be different, it’s probably not the fastest, after all, it could be Henderson or Fabinoho.
“I think you get a little more out of it in a higher level situation, maybe even a little bit more creativity, where it can cause more problems in and around the bustling bunks around it.
“We always talk about Man City midfield – you think about Silva and de Bryan – sometimes, compare it to Liverpool’s midfield.
“The way Liverpool play is completely different. It works a lot for the next three of the midfield three because they play very narrowly.
“A lot of the time, you’ll see Henderson going into a huge position, and science fiction, so that’s not what Thiago can bring to Liverpool.”
Thiago is red!
The £ 20m + deal has brought the midfielder to Anfield, and he is ready to beat Jurgen Klopp.
Are you ready to keep up with him, the 20/21 season of Liverpool and the Reds? Big things will be expected this season and you won’t miss a thing from our LFC newsletter from the ECHO team.
You’ll be up-to-date with our newsletter with Thiago and the Reds throughout the season. You’ll find breaking news directly on your inbox, analytics and more.
You will know everything about Liverpool.
How do I sign up?
It’s free, easy and doesn’t take much time.
- First just click on this link in our newsletter sign up center.
- Once you get there, place your email address where it says at the top, then click on the Liverpool FC newsletter. There are others if you want it.
- When you make your selection, press the Update Preferences button at the bottom.
Just this! Your emails will arrive in your inbox from that moment on. It’s easy.
Keragher welcomes the number of options now available for Klopp – and will look forward to seeing Thiago add “something different” to the mix.
He added: “He still has to add things that other midfielders bring. Let’s not forget what this midfielder has done for Liverpool – they have reached two Champions League finals and won one of them, and also won the league.
“I don’t think bringing in Thiago gives Liverpool a better chance of winning the league, I think they’ll probably have a better oversight and give you more surgery.
“I don’t think it’s a game-changer this way, but it adds something different.”
* What do you think of the deal for Diego Jota? Let us know in our new signature survey here.
.
