Fabrizio Romano has shared his latest information on the possibility of a high-profile player exit from Liverpool in 2024.
Spanish journalist Gerard Romero claimed last week (via Barca Universal) that Thiago Alcantara is on a three-man shortlist at Barcelona, whose transfer focus is on midfield additions following the season-ending injury to Gavi.
The Reds maestro rose through the ranks at Camp Nou before winning the Champions League with the club, also lifting the trophy at Bayern Munich in 2020 shortly before his move to Anfield.
In his latest Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, Romano addressed the possibility of the 32-year-old returning to Catalonia in the next few months.
The Italian stated: “I’ve had some fans asking me about stories involving Thiago Alcantara and a surprise potential return to Barcelona this January. Of course we know that Barca are now short in midfield after the lengthy injury to Gavi, but it’s too early to know if they’re going to replace him, or who they could target.
“With Thiago, I’m not aware of concrete talks with Barca so far. As I previously reported, Barca’s priority is to register Vitor Roque before deciding on the midfielder situation. For now there are no changes, and no concrete developments on how to act with replacing Gavi.
“It’s also worth remembering that Thiago said no to Saudi clubs in July as he wanted to stay at Liverpool. As far as I’m aware there has been no change to his situation since then.”
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With Jurgen Klopp stating that Thiago isn’t due back from his ongoing injury problems until January at the earliest, a mid-season exit from Liverpool seems unlikely.
However, the midfielder hasn’t played in seven months, so even when he’s fit enough to feature again, he’ll probably need a few matches to get fully up to speed.
The likelihood is that the 32-year-old’s return to the fold will be implemented on a soft basis, with the former Spain international perhaps coming off the bench to provide a composed experienced head to see out results, rather than being thrust straight back into the starting line-up after being sidelined for so long.
His big-name nous could yet be crucial for Liverpool in the second half of the season, particularly if it ends up being a charge for multiple trophies like in 2021/22, and it mustn’t be forgotten that Thiago is an outstanding footballer who talkSPORT‘s Jim White previously dubbed a ‘Rolls-Royce of a player’.
That said, with his contract expiring next June – by which time he’ll be 33 – there’s a growing sense that this’ll be the ex-Barcelona midfielder’s final campaign at Anfield. Whether or not he returns to Camp Nou thereafter remains to be seen.