Popular pundit Paul Merson has claimed that Jurgen Klopp needs to start Thiago Alcantara every week for Liverpool.
The Reds have missed his creativity and composure at the centre of the park this season and the Spaniard could improve them a lot if he starts every week.
Thiago has been the best Liverpool player on the pitch every time he has played this season and he could make a big impact for the Reds during the second half of the campaign.
Teams tend to defend deeper against Liverpool and the Reds struggle without space. Someone like Thiago could open up defences with his passing and Merson claims that Klopp will be fully aware of this by now.
“Liverpool are struggling without that guile in midfield,” said Merson to Sky Sports. “They’ll need Thiago to play every week. He’s the one who sees that pass.”
“I think Jurgen Klopp knows this now, because he’s even bringing Xherdan Shaqiri in, someone who you’d have previously thought might not play another minute for Liverpool. But he can put the ball through the eye of a needle.
“Without that, it takes the Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino X-factor out of the game. Liverpool are still the best in the world without the ball, but when there’s no space there, it gets taken away.
“Thiago must play every week. He can see that pass, and we’ve seen evidence of that in a couple of games. It might not always come off, but he sees it.”
The Reds have struggled against the likes of Fulham, West Brom, Brighton and Newcastle in the recent weeks and they could have easily won those games with the likes of Thiago and Shaqiri starting.
The likes of Salah, Mane and Firmino have also struggled because of the lack of creativity from the midfield this season.
The Spanish international has now fully recovered from his knee injury and it will be interesting to see if he can stay fit for the remainder of the season.
Liverpool currently find themselves second in the Premier League table, behind Manchester United and they will be hoping to close that gap on Sunday when the two sides face each other.
