Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara is ‘closing in’ on a return from injury.
Thiago hasn’t played a minute of football since April, with his last start coming way back at the start of February. With his contract finishing at the end of the season, his Liverpool career looks set to end with a whimper.
However, according to 90min, the 32-year-old is about to try everything in his power to stop that from happening.
As well as claiming that Thiago is due to return early in the New Year, they report that the Spaniard is hoping to convince the powers that be at Anfield that he’s ‘worthy’ of a contract extension.
Having shown ‘little to no interest’ in leaving Liverpool during the summer, Thiago will reportedly ‘rebuff’ any overtures for his signature in January, too.
Instead, the former Barcelona man is said to be ‘keen to contribute’ for the Reds. Claimed to be armed with the belief that he can still play a role this season, Thiago is seemingly out to extend his Anfield career, too.
Thiago aiming for new contract
This is absolutely superb news for Liverpool. If they can get Thiago fit and contributing, we’d love to see him stay at the club for a little bit longer.
Of course, there are a couple of issues surrounding that. The first obviously being the Spain international’s lack of availability.
During his three-and-a-half years with Liverpool, Thiago has been liable to break down at any moment.
Say he does return in January and stays fit for the rest of the season, there’s no guarantee at all that he’ll continue to be useful next year.
Whatever way you look at it, handing Thiago a new deal would be a real gamble in this respect.
The second issue is wages. As the storied professional that he is, our No.6 is one of club’s top earners. You simply can’t agree to extend a player like that’s contract on the same terms.
Having said that, if Thiago can agree to a lower salary, on perhaps a short-term basis, then Liverpool should seriously think about keeping him.
If he can get on the pitch from January, there’s still every chance that Thiago can make a serious difference for the Reds this season. He clearly believes he can and from the way Klopp and his coaches speak about him, you can see they do as well. Watch this space.
Leave a Reply