Thiago Alcántara is, without a doubt, one of the benchmark midfielders in world football and a key player in Liverpool’s machinery.
Still, concerns remain about the Spaniard’s availability in light of his injury history at the club, with the former Blaugrana star missing five games in this spell alone.
It has presumably been a factor in Frank McAvennie’s suggestion that both club and player would be “happy” to allow the 31-year-old to finish out his contract at Anfield (which is due to expire in 2024) and call it a day. .
“He will be in a good agreement, so he will be happy if his contract ends. Then he’ll go somewhere else,” the former Celtic star told Football Insider.
“He will be 33 years old when his contract ends, I think he will be ready to play.
“If you get two more good years out of Thiago, they will be happy. He is a wonderful talent, he can see things a lot earlier than everyone else, which is great for a player.”
One only has to look at the scale of improvement in performance that fans witnessed at L4 in the 2-1 win against Ajax, compared to the 4-1 loss to Napoli the week before, to see why it is a possibly problematic suggestion.
It will be a while until the elegant playmaker returns to ply his trade for Jurgen Klopp’s men following Chelsea’s suspended clash, however once action returns on October 1, there is an easy way for fans. they can keep track of the best operators in betting. world in the midst of all the live action.
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Coming out of his current tenure at the age of 33, and considering Thiago’s injury history, one could forgive McAvennie for his suggestion.
One could imagine, too, that we’ll be keen to secure a replacement for the Spain international as soon as possible, be it on loan from Arthur Melo or a young prospect.
To take an alternative stance, we advise those in favor of parting ways with our number 6 to take a look at the reigning European champions and the current importance of Luka Modric at Real Madrid at the age of 37.
It will quickly be argued that the Croatian is competing in a comparatively slower and less physically demanding league; a point worth keeping in mind if our playmaker were to be a box-to-box midfielder rather than a technical operator dictating the pace from midfield.
As the latter of the two, we see little reason why Thiago could not continue to be as effective for Jurgen Klopp’s men who are well into their 30s.
To be clear, we’re not advocating that Liverpool hand the former Bayern Munich star a five-year deal in the summer of 2023, though we shouldn’t rush to allow his contract to run its course either.
As always, injuries remain a concern when it comes to the midfielder’s availability going forward, though hopefully the availability of a vaguely reliable alternative will give decision-makers at Anfield the confidence to extend his stay at the club. appropriate time.
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