Thiago Alcantara linked with surprise move to former club as Liverpool prepare to sell him for affordable price: Reports
Liverpool star Thiago Alcantara has reportedly emerged on Barcelona's radar with the Anfield side willing to offload him for an affordable price.
Thiago, 32, has failed to establish himself as a regular at the Reds due to a host of injuries. Since arriving from Bayern Munich for £25 million in 2020, he has missed a whopping 66 matches across all competitions.
A right-footed press-resistant midfielder, the Spaniard has been rumored to depart of late due to his high salary and poor injury record. He has recently attracted interest from Saudi Arabia, according to The Athletic.
According to SPORT, Liverpool are prepared to part ways with Thiago this summer for a reasonable fee to make room for more signings. As a result, Barcelona have expressed an interest in signing the midfielder.
Should the two-time UEFA Champions League winner join Barcelona in the future, he could prove to be a shrewd signing for them. He would act as a mentor for the likes of Pedri Gonzalez, Gavi and Pablo Torre.
After rising through the ranks at La Masia, Thiago spent five seasons at Barcelona between 2008 and 2013. He lifted a total of 10 trophies at Camp Nou, featuring in 100 games across competitions along the way.
So far, the former Blaugrana man has contributed three goals and six assists in 97 appearances across competitions for Jurgen Klopp's side.
Liverpool to let Thiago leave, says journalist
Speaking to GiveMeSport, transfer insider Dean Jones suggested that Thiago will be allowed to seal a departure this summer. He elaborated:
"My understanding is that Liverpool will not force Thiago out. They are open-minded to him going if he finds a suitable project. Part of the reason is that Thiago is one of the highest earners, is certainly one of the higher earners at the club. So, there would be benefits to moving him on, and that's what helps them with the next stage of rebuilding. If the player wants to leave, he will be allowed to."
Thiago, who is in the final year of his deal at Anfield, has allegedly also been linked with Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in the past few weeks. According to Turkish publication Aksam, Thiago is valued at £17 million.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are keen to raise funds to rope in a third midfield signing this summer with Southampton's highly-rated youngster Romeo Lavia linked to the Reds. They have snapped up Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister for over £95 million so far.
Klopp's men currently have three ageing midfielders in Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago. The Reds are likely to revamp the midfield with Henderson also now linked with an exit from the club along with Thiago.