Liverpool braced for Barcelona's Thiago bid with midfielder on 'five-man shortlist'

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 9 Apr 2023 10:25 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona have shortlisted five of their former players as they look to steady their ship ahead of next season, with Liverpool's Thiago Alcantara at the top of their list according to reports in Spain.

Liverpool have looked desperately short in midfield this season, with Thiago joining Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arthir Melo on the sidelines with injury, while James Milner and Jordan Henderson are 37 and 33 respectively.

The Reds have been strongly linked with big-money summer move for Jude Bellingham, although they face fierce competition from Real Madrid and Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund's nascent England midfielder.

READ: Liverpool favourites to sign La Liga star

Whether or not they get Bellingham, Liverpool would be loath to lose Thiago, but Barcelona's pull could prove irresistible for the player - if they can afford him.

"Thiago Alcantara, despite being important for many months at Liverpool, has this season, mainly due to injury, lost weight in the team," claim Spanish sports daily AS.

'Thiago would be ideal for Barca'

"Now that Xavi is looking for another midfielder, Thiago would be ideal: he knows the club and would quickly adapt to their style of play. His seniority would also be welcomed now the club are targeting players with Ilkay Gundogan's profile."

READ: The Premier League midfielder Barca see as an ideal Busquets replacement

Whilst Gundogan could be picked up on a free transfer from Manchester City this summer, Thiago remains under contract at Liverpool until June 2024 and is valued at €28.4m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm.

Barca have been told to raise €200m by La Liga if they want to compete next season, meanwhile, but with all but Robert Lewandowsi, Ousmane Dembele, Gavi and Pedri available - alongside the sale of 49 per cent of Barca Licensing & Merchandising - they could generate a surplus to spend on players.

Thiago is a La Masia academy graduate who left Barca for Bayern Munich in 2013 with Xavi and Andres Iniesta blocking his path to the first team.

As well as Thiago, Barca are keeping tabs on former players Dani Olmo, Xavi Simons, Arnau Martinez and Sergio Gomez according to AS.