Fabrizio Romano has played down speculation linking one of Liverpool’s highest earners with a move away from Anfield this summer.
It had been reported by Spanish outlet Sport in recent weeks that Thiago Alcantara was weighing up the possibility of returning to LaLiga, with Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo and Sevilla named among the potentially interested parties.
However, taking to social media on Monday afternoon, the Italian journalist dismissed any notion of the Reds’ third-best paid player (on £200,000 per week, as per Capology) moving on from Merseyside any time soon.
Romano stated: “No negotiations, no talks, nothing at all between Thiago Alcantara and Sevilla despite links. Thiago, only focused on Liverpool.”
No negotiations, no talks, nothing at all between Thiago Alcantara and Sevilla despite links. ⛔️⚪️🔴
Thiago, only focused on Liverpool. pic.twitter.com/pHSHem13WJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2023
Liverpool fans will likely be quite relieved to see the reliable reporter so emphatically batting away rumours of Thiago leaving the club this month.
The Reds have already seen five midfielders depart Anfield since the end of last season, with just two coming in, so their priority must surely be to enhance that part of the squad rather than culling it even further.
In different circumstances, the Merseysiders might’ve had more leeway to consider parting with the injury-prone 32-year-old this summer, but Jurgen Klopp will be quite glad that the player’s focus seems fully fixed on his current club.
A midfielder of his experience (432 games for Barcelona, Bayern and Liverpool combined) will be pivotal to LFC’s squad this season, while his importance to the team is highlighted by him having the highest tackling average (2.4 per match) and third-highest for interceptions (1.2 per game) last term (WhoScored).
Having returned to full team training following his latest layoff, Thiago should hopefully be close to lining out for the Reds on matchday again. If he has better luck on the injury front in 2023/24, he could still be a massive player for us in the campaign ahead.
#Ep83 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones