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Liverpool face Thiago Alcantara battle as Man City and Juventus to join transfer race

Liverpool face Thiago Alcantara battle as Man City and Juventus to join transfer race

Mirror

Liverpool have competition to sign Thiago Alcantara with Juventus and Manchester City reportedly ready to join the race for the Bayern Munich midfielder.

The Reds have been linked with a £30m move for Thiago this summer, with Bayern ready to sell the 29-year-old now that he has entered the final year of his contract.

Jurgen Klopp's side have been considered the standout favourites to sign the Spain international, but the newly crowned Premier League champions may not have it all their own way, according to reports from Italy.

While Liverpool appear to hesitate over a move for Thiago, Tutto Juve reports that Serie A giants Juventus are pondering a bid of their own.

The publication says Manchester City are also interested, with manager Pep Guardiola said to be a fan of the player.

With Thiago having found his game time limited at Bayern this season, he may prefer to a move to a club where he has more chance of being a regular starter.

That could favour Juventus, with Liverpool's wealth of midfield options meaning £45m Naby Keita struggles to force his way into the starting lineup, while City also have great strength in depth in the engine room - even with David Silva set to leave.

Then again, if City's two-year ban from European football is upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday, Guardiola's side could lose stars like Kevin de Bruyne, who will want to play in the Champions League.

While it appears difficult to see where Liverpool could strengthen for next season, given their dominance in the Premier League this term, former Reds man Glen Johnson has given an insight into where Thiago can fit into the team.

Speaking to Mirror Football on behalf of Betdaq , former defender Johnson said: "When you play against certain opponents, if he was given the free role as like a no.10 and let’s say Fabinho and Henderson in front of the back four then I could see that working wonders, because he’s a fantastic player and he can open up defences.

"If an away back four has got to worry about [Sadio] Mane, [Mohamed] Salah and [Roberto] Firmino, and then you’ve got Thiago floating around them, that’s going to keep them very occupied."