While it was previously thought that Liverpool would be fairly quiet in the transfer market this summer, reports in recent days have suggested that they are eyeing a deal for a star midfielder.
Thiago Alcantara has entered the final 12 months of his contract at Bayern Munich, with talks over a new deal thought to have stalled.
The 29-year old has been at the club since 2013, winning seven consecutive Bundesliga titles and three DFB-Pokals. Having experienced such success at the club, this could be seen as the ideal time to pursue a new challenge.
Considering the short amount of time left on his contract and Bayern's willingness to accept lower fees for players who have been loyal to the club, Thiago could available for a very reasonable price.
It has been suggested that Liverpool were close to signing the player for a fee of around €35million. While this remains no more than a rumour, we do now have confirmation that the Spaniard wants to leave Bayern.
Speaking to Bild, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed the player was looking to move on.
He's a great guy on and off the pitch. We negotiated with him and met all of his wishes, but Thiago Alcantara wants to leave.
It looks like he may want to do something new at the end of his career. We don't want to lose a player for free next year. I say that very clearly.
As strong as Liverpool's squad is, Thiago is exactly the type of midfielder that they are lacking. He can control the pace of the game and also has the ability to see defence splitting passes that other players cannot.
He would be a wonderful signing, even if his age profile would be somewhat higher than the typical Liverpool signing. Despite this, he would be difficult to pass up at that price.
