It has been a difficult start to life in the Premier League for Thiago Alcantara.
There was excitement among Liverpool fans when they signed the Spain midfielder for £20million from Bayern Munich last summer.
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However, Thiago has won just four of his first 13 matches in a Liverpool shirt, while struggling with injuries.
However, there has to be a ‘reasonable expectation’ of what the 29-year-old can bring to Liverpool.
“In terms of adapting to the Premier League, all of their best midfielders have been playing in defence,” European football journalist Andy Brassell told the Trans Euro Express on talkSPORT.
“So he’s not been slotting into the same team, which is tough.
“I always said from the beginning when there was this frenzy of excitement when he signed, you have to realise he’s not going to be a guy who’s going to come over and play 60 games [in a season].
“He’s never done that in his career. He’s got a lot of miles on the clock for someone of his age.
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“He’s taken a few injuries and had a few surgeries. He rarely plays, if ever, more than 20, 25 league games a season.
“So there has to be a reasonable expectation of what sort of player he can be for Liverpool.”
With Liverpool leading Leicester 1-0 on Saturday, Thiago’s foul on Harvey Barnes saw James Maddison equalise from the resulting free-kick, before Jamie Vardy capitalised on another Alisson error to put the Foxes in front.
Barnes added gloss to the scoreline late on as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp publicly admitted his side’s chances of retaining the Premier League title are over.
But it’s not just Thiago letting the side down, as former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan told talkSPORT on Monday morning.
BT Sport
BT Sport
“If you look at their front three there’s no electricity. Other than the move for the goal [Mohamed] Salah scores [against Leicester], there’s not much from [Roberto] Firmino.
“Thiago hasn’t added the value that a player of his quality could and should add to Liverpool because he’s come into a different Liverpool side. He’s slowed Liverpool down.
“Taking Firmino a little bit out of the picture, Salah’s contribution of goals cannot be devalued, but other than the goals, his overall performance on the pitch is poor.
“My overall take on Liverpool is they’re good, but they’re no longer exceptional.”
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