According to a report from Sport Bild, Man City boss Pep Guardiola and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could be set for a ‘duel’ over Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
Guardiola is said to still be ‘convinced’ over Thiago’s quality as a player, and with club legend David Silva putting an end to his decade-long stay at the Etihad, we are reportedly considering the possibility of hijacking Liverpool and signing the 29-year-old.
Should City sign Thiago?
100%, world class midfielder
No, we have enough stars in that position
A former understudy of Guardiola’s at Bayern, the pair have a good relationship, which could feasibly give the Sky Blues an advantage if we are chasing a move.
Liverpool have long been linked to Thiago, with the transfer saga raging on since the start of summer, and City could now throw a spanner in the works.
Should we sign him?
Sport Bild claim that while Bayern would be happy to sell Thiago for €30 million (£27.2 million), we could in fact ‘offer more’ – putting us into contention for his signature.
According to WhoScored, the Spaniard averaged an impressive 90.5% pass accuracy over 2019/2020 – a stat which could exemplify why Guardiola rates the playmaker highly.
For a centre-midfielder, Thiago also completes a noteworthy amount of dribbles – managing three successful take-ons per 90.
To put that attacking statistic into perspective, that’s more than any attacker in our squad – including the likes of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez.
However, at 29-years-old, you could debate the fact he will not be able to keep up this form in the long run.
City also have a plethora of star central midfield players, with Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan all capable of stepping into Silva’s role.
What’s been said…
Ex-Bayern boss Niko Kovac certainly rates the former Barcelona star very highly, calling him ‘sensational’ in an interview with the Bundesliga official website.
“What can I say about Thiago? He’s a top player! He was sensational last season,” explained Kovac.
“We’ve got a massive pool of exceptional midfielders, but he’s the heartbeat of our midfield, a player who can do everything with the ball.
“He can speed up the game, slow it down – he thinks like a coach. That’s what every coach wants.”
The final verdict…
While a swoop for Thiago looks good on paper, City arguably don’t really benefit from the injection of another passing midfielder, with other positions like centre-back and the striker role needing to take priority.