Jurgen Klopp to lose another first-team Liverpool star bringing summer exodus to nine
Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara is considering a move back to his native Spain with a number of LaLiga clubs having been made aware that he is ready to leave Anfield
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could be about to lose another Kop star with Spanish international Thiago Alcantara nearing the exit door.
The 32-year-old is considering a move back to his native Spain with a number of LaLiga clubs having been made aware that he is ready to leave Anfield. He just has 12 months left on his current deal, a similar situation to the summer of 2020 when he left Bayern Munich for Merseyside in a cut-price £20million transfer.
The Spanish international has become a firm favourite with Liverpool fans although injuries saw him make just 18 Premier League appearances last season. But as in the cases of skipper Jordan Henderson and Brazilian international Fabinho who are both heading to Saudi Arabia, Klopp ideally doesn’t want to lose Thiago as well.
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Klopp though has never kept a player against his will and if Thiago forces through a move Klopp will reluctantly stand aside. It will though accelerate Liverpool’s push to add to the midfield signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool have baulked at the £70million price tag Crystal Palace have placed on Cheick Doucoure while Real Madrid have insisted another Anfield target Aurelien Tchouameni is not for sale.
Klopp is also interested in Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat while Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips has been mentioned. With Thiago now also set for the exit door the need to bring in new signings has reached a critical level.
Jurgen Klopp had a spring in his step after the quick-fire signings of midfield stars Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. World Cup winner Mac Allister and Hungary skipper Szoboszlai were brought to Merseyside for less than £100 million and with plenty of time to bed the duo into the pre-season programme appeared heaven scent for the Liverpool boss still smarting from last season’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
With hopes of landing another top-quality operator for the Anfield engine room, it seemed that the departures of Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would be more than compensated for.
A reboot complete with younger energy and knowhow to back up a forward line brimming with goal potential in the shape of Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo had The Kop willing the season to start now.
Klopp was said to be well over his end-of-season depression. His beaming smile had returned at the training ground and having won his battle with the Anfield bean counters over a slimmed-down sequence of friendlies as opposed to running up the air miles with games all around the globe, the die was cast for a new campaign.
But then came the Saudi Arabia factor to suddenly throw a spoke into the Liverpool wheel as the squad headed off to their training camp in Germany encompassing a couple of friendlies.
Fabinho who made 53 appearances for Liverpool and Brazil last season was left behind on Merseyside to discuss a £40million move to join up with former Wolves and Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo at Al Ittihad.
Meanwhile, skipper Jordan Henderson was involved in Germany despite negotiations over a £700,000 a week switch to Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq on-going.
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Klopp’s worst fears were realised in his homeland on the eve of Wednesday’s friendly against Bundesliga II side Karlsruher when he was forced to pull his long-time captain out of the game after a £12 million transfer fee had been agreed between the two clubs.
And if Klopp didn’t now have enough distractions on the eve of an important season he was informed that Al Hilal had launched a £45 million bid for Luis Diaz. It was promptly knocked back but with the colossal salaries on offer, Diaz can’t be blamed if his head had been turned.
There are also fears within the club that Mo Salah will also be targeted by the super-rich Saudis who are rapidly proving that the Saudi Pro League isn’t just a retirement home for Premier League players approaching their sell-by date.
“You always need problems in a pre-season and it’s all about overcoming them,” he stressed. But Klopp was referring to tinkling with his formations not losing two key components of his side.
Make no mistake this is a club decision to allow Fabinho and Henderson to leave because on the financial side, it makes sense but not when you are building for a new season.
In an ideal world Klopp would have liked the Anfield hierarchy to have kept James Milner because of the 37-year-old’s standing in the dressing room – ditto Henderson at the age of 33.
Liverpool insiders suggest in Klopp’s view this is a changing of the guard far too soon as he looks for suitable replacements with the Premier League big kick-off looming.