Liverpool youngster Billy Koumetio has described one senior player at Anfield as being ‘beautiful to watch’ in training.
The defender – who’s currently on loan at USL Dunkerque – gave a wide-ranging interview to the Liverpool Echo in which he was asked which member of Jurgen Klopp’s squad had most impressed him behind the scenes.
The 20-year-old replied: “The best player (in training) is very difficult! I don’t know, I would have to think for an hour about the best player!”
Koumetio picked out two former Reds in Adam Lallana and Bobby Firmino before honing in on a current Anfield star.
He gushed: “The first one who shocked me the first time we trained, and I was like, one day I would like, obviously I want to train every day and be on the pitch but one day, just one day of my career, I would like to just sit and watch him train is Thiago Alcantara.
“Thiago is a different class. I love watching him, the way he plays and the way he trains hard. He is very beautiful to watch.”
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Even among the incredibly gifted squads Liverpool have had under Klopp, Thiago indeed stands out as one of the most technically brilliant.
Aside from Koumetio’s praise, he’s also won massive plaudits from illustrious names such as Pep Guardiola, Xavi and Neymar, while his former Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac once labelled him ‘a coach’s dream’ (Planet Football).
The 32-year-old boasts an incredible passing success rate of 90.4% over the course of his career (WhoScored), while he ranks among the top 7% of midfielders in Europe’s five main leagues for progressive passes per game over the past 12 months with a match average of 8.45 (FBref).
Thiago hasn’t been prolific at Liverpool, with only three goals in 97 appearances for the Reds (Transfermarkt), but one of those strikes summed up his incredible technique. That, of course, was his fizzing 25-yard strike in a Champions League win over Porto two years ago.
Injuries have unfortunately dogged him throughout his time at Anfield (Transfermarkt), but looking at him whenever he has played, it’s little wonder Koumetio singled him out as one of the most ‘beautiful’ players to watch on Merseyside.
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