Finances are tight at Liverpool following the coronavirus pandemic and boss Jurgen Klopp needs to offload one of seven players if he wants to fund anymore transfers this summer, with Thiago Alcantara the prime target. The 29-year-old
The Bayern Munich midfielder is valued by his club at £27million given he has less than a year remaining on his current contract.
In order to raise the cash, Klopp must therefore sell one of the seven midfielders already at the club, according to The Times.
That could prove a conundrum for Klopp as only Marko Grujic would be deemed disposable.
The 24-year-old is valued at £20million but Liverpool would do well to get that amount despite interest from clubs in Germany.
Of the other six midfielders in Klopp's ranks, captain Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are practically indispensable.
At 34, the Reds would struggle to attract a big fee for James Milner and that leaves only Georginio Wijnaldum who remains a key player under Klopp despite his ongoing contract situation.
The sale of Grujic looks to be Klopp's best option, as he also hopes to offload Harry Wilson and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Klopp is wary though that he still needs to find a replacement for departed fourth-choice centre-back Dejan Lovren to provide cover to his current crop.
Thiago wants to move to Anfield once Bayern's Champions League campaign is over but may be forced to wait until he is available on a free in 2021.
But former Reds’ midfielder Steve Nicol believes the club will try to use Thiago's contract situation to try and reach an agreement.
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“If they come up with a compromise that suits Bayern, then it’ll happen,” Nicol told ESPN . “But if it doesn’t happen in this window, it’s going to happen next summer when his contract runs out.’’
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
