Is Thiago a bad signing for Liverpool? Hamann gives his verdict

The Reds midfielder’s return from injury has coincided with the club’s dip in form, prompting an interesting theory from Hamann.

Despite rating Thiago Alcantara as a ‘brilliant player’, Dietmar Hamann suggests the midfielder isn’t what Liverpool need as he compromises the club’s tactic in passing the ball quickly to Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

The former Bayern Munich star joined Liverpool on a four-year deal in September, but he’s only played a handful of Premier League games so far due to knee problems and a positive COVID-19 test.

His return to the fold in December has coincided with a poor run of results. The Reds have won just one match, an FA Cup third-round tie against a youthful Aston Villa, in the six outings (D2 L3) Thiago has featured in since his return on December 30.

“Thiago hasn’t played much, he has been injured,” Hamann told Stadium Astro.

“We have seen some of the best players in Europe take a few weeks or months to adapt to the English game. I think we will see a better Thiago.

“Liverpool have always been a team that plays the ball forward quickly. I know teams sit back against them, but that doesn’t mean that slowing the game down helps them.”

The former Reds midfielder continued: “Thiago is a player that always wants to be in possession, he gets 120 touches in a game, and when he wants the ball, the defenders and full-backs will be trying to give it to him because they know he is a playmaker.

“The time they lose in giving him the ball is time they lose in giving it to Salah or Mane quickly. Liverpool have always been at their most devastating when the ball has got to Mane and Salah quickly.

“The earlier they get the ball, the more timer they have to turn and run at a defender. Mane and Salah are virtually unstoppable when they are running at defenders at pace.

“The dynamics of the team will change and I’m not sure whether that change will be for the better with him [Thiago] in the team.

“He’s a brilliant player, there is no doubt about it, but whether he is a player that Liverpool need, I’m not too sure.”