I can see Thiago being sacrificed this summer as two players save Liverpool £100m

I can see Thiago being sacrificed this summer as two players save Liverpool £100m

John Aldridge discusses Thiago’s future and upcoming clash with Aston Villa in part two of his weekly Liverpool column

Important decisions need to be made this summer as we prepare for a midfield revamp.

Liverpool have still signed Stefan Bajcetic for his return next season, although our other injured Spaniard is someone whose future may not be so certain. With Trent now moving into midfield and potentially making two or three signings during the transfer window, I wonder if Thiago will leave.

He’s only played about half of our games yet and he’s getting old. Klopp could try to develop him to bring in someone younger and given the way we work as a club we have to bring in the money somehow. As good as Thiago is, you need players who are always fit, young and able to enter the field. Curtis Jones and Trent could save the club £100 million this summer, but we still need two top midfielders.

Jones and Trent may be the ones for the future, but James Milner and Roberto Firmino seem to be nearing the end of their respective eight-year stays. Saturday afternoon promises to be an emotional day as they take the field at Anfield for possibly the last time.

What can you say about those two? Nothing but good things. What they have done for us is amazing. Firmino’s style is so different from any other striker I’ve seen and I wish him the best. James Milner, meanwhile, is the best free transfer in Liverpool’s history. Gary McAllister was awesome, but Milner was out of this world. I don’t think people know or nearly will recognize what Milner wears in the locker room let alone on the pitch. He is an exemplary professional and has so much more to offer. I played until I was almost 40 and it’s something James is perfectly capable of, because he’s a freak of nature. No matter who buys Liverpool this summer, they won’t be able to replace the qualities Milner brings to this team.

Also…

shieldsgazette.com

‘I don’t feel that emotion’: Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe responds to Jurgen Klopp’s…

Jurgen Klopp claimed that Newcastle United would be “happy” if Liverpool were not taking the battle for the Champions League places to the wire.

Eddie Howe, for his part, says he is just happy to focus on his own team for the third-placed club’s remaining three games.

Howe’s side need six points to be certain of a Champions League place, and Klopp said at the King Power Stadium that it was “likely” that they would finish in the top four.

“Newcastle and (Manchester) United would be happy if we wouldn’t be there any more, and Brighton just starts losing now, and Tottenham, and that it was safe, and they could concentrate on other stuff,” said Liverpool’s manager.

“But it’s still more likely that they’ll do it. I respect that. If they finish the season above us, they deserve it. That’s how I see it.”

Howe was asked ahead of tomorrow night’s penultimate home game against Brighton and Hove Albion if he felt that his team was being “hunted” by Liverpool in the final weeks of the campaign.

“I don’t feel like we’re being hunted,” said United’s head coach. “I don’t feel that emotion. It’s us against ourselves, really. That’s how I see it.

“It’s us trying to be the best we can be. I’ve not focused on any other team all season.

“In my experience, I knew Liverpool were never far away, because they’re a top team, and they’re capable of going on runs of wins. They’re very similar to Manchester City, where they can win a group of games without blinking. They’ve got that experience.

“For us, we can’t look at it, or compare ourselves to Liverpool. We just have to look at us.”

Howe would have “snapped your arm off” if he had been offered Newcastle’s position at the start of the season.

“Snapped your arm off, is the phrase that use,” said Howe. “We were, at the start of the season when you take yourself back, I think, I sat in this room, and I said it was about making sure we weren’t fighting relegation.”