Thiago: Keep or sell?

Our long awaited midfield rebuild has started then, with the exciting signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Sobo… Szobos… erm Dominik the Hungary captain. The departures have also begun with Ox, Naby and Milner seeking pastures new and Carvalho leaving on loan.

I think most of us thought that would be it for departures but with recent reports claiming Saudi clubs are interested in Thiago and the player apparently removing LFC from his intstagram page, is it possible the Italian, Brazilian, Spaniard could be on his way too and if so, how do we feel about that?

Thiago when fit and firing is a joy to watch and his skill set can be matched by few others and he also seems a thoroughly decent chap as well. The elephant in the room has always been he can be injury prone, although I do feel that has been exaggerated somewhat, with many throwing him in the same boat as the perennially injured Ox and Keita. I do think the club need to take some responsibility for some of his issues as well, as we’ve tended to run him into the ground when he is fit, basically playing him every game until he’s injured because of a chronic lack of depth due to the aforementioned perennially injured Ox and Keita.

The club clearly had no intention of selling him either given the fact we decided to cut his season short last year, in order for him to undergo corrective surgery on a troublesome hip problem, with the idea being do the surgery before the end of last season so he’s fit for the beginning of this season.

Does it make sense to sell him then? In a word, no… but… we’ve not seen the offer yet. Normally you wouldn’t be expecting a sizeable transfer fee for a player in their 30’s with one year left on their contract but seeing as the Saudi sportswashing campaign has gone into absolute overdrive, this is no normal transfer window and with fees like £40 million being suggested, at that kind of price it would be an absolute no-brainer.

The flip side is, training and playing alongside a player of the calibre of Thiago who has won more than most of the squad combined, is invaluable for some of our younger players, especially Mac Allister who is likely to assume his role on the left of midfield. It also means that too much isn’t expected of our new signings too soon and gives them a season to properly bed in.

In my opinion then, we should keep Thiago for the final year of his contract UNLESS a silly offer from Saudi comes in that is just too good to turn down. If it’s the usual kind of offer for a 32 year old with one year left however, I think it’s more beneficial to keep him.

What’s your thoughts then troops? Thiago – keep or sell