When Thiago Alcantara arrived at Liverpool, a Champions League winners’ medal was among the first things he needed to unpack. Immediately prior to linking up with the Reds, the classy Spain international had conquered the continent with Bayern Munich.
In fact, he won a treble in his final season with the German giants, with a collection of perfect parting gifts sending him on his way. Those at Anfield, meanwhile, were Premier League title holders at the time.
A sporting match made in heaven appeared to have been found, with Jurgen Klopp adding another creative influence to a squad already loaded with match-altering talent. Big things were expected of Thiago in new surroundings.
It has taken him a while to find his feet, but the 2021-22 campaign is shaping up to be a profitable one for all concerned on Merseyside. Liverpool are right back in the mix for another domestic crown, with English Premier League odds from Betfair rating them as 3/1 shots to recapture that particular trophy.
There was a time not all that long ago when serious questions were being asked of whether Thiago would have any role to play in quests to earn favour in EPL betting tips and land more major trophies, never mind a prominent one.
Thiago, Thiago Alcantara
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 25, 2021
Love it, @Thiago6 pic.twitter.com/iNXjxBvV7g
With fitness setbacks and selection problems being endured, inevitable exit talk surfaced heading towards another transfer window. For some, a retracing of steps to Barcelona was on the cards for a graduate of the famed La Masia academy system.
Rumours
For his part, Thiago was never reading anything into the speculation. When quizzed on the gossip, he casually batted it away by saying: “I play football. I'm not concerned about rumours.”
He has been around long enough to know that memories are short in modern football and that those apparently deemed surplus to requirement one week can be flavour of the month the next. His qualities are once again being lauded in the present.
With Liverpool rediscovering a useful knack of grinding out results, Thiago has become a driving force in the Reds’ midfield engine room. He is starting to look like the player that Klopp knew he was acquiring in 2020.
Confidence is a wonderful thing and, with a few goals under his belt, a proven performer at the very highest level has shaken off any shackles to show what he is all about – get the ball, give it and keep things moving forward.
These Anfield nights pic.twitter.com/QjqUfyE6UK
— Thiago Alcantara (@Thiago6) November 24, 2021
Following the departure of Georginio Wijnaldum, questions were always going to be asked of who could fill that void at Anfield. Thiago is providing answers that make a mockery of those who dared to doubt him.
He is prepared to mix graft and guile, with momentum-crushing fouls as much a part of his game as defense-splitting passes, and he has learnt quickly what the Premier League is all about.
Talk of making a move elsewhere has now faded to nothing - if there was ever anything in it anyway – with Thiago bringing that speculation to a close in the best possible way. As the old saying goes, form is temporary but class is permanent.
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