Thiago Alcantara is so assured in possession that he “looks like he could play in his slippers”, says Peter Crouch, with the former Liverpool striker impressed by a new arrival who can become a “big figure” at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp knew what he was buying into when luring the talented playmaker away from Bayern Munich.
Thiago arrived in England having helped his former club to treble glory in 2019-20, while his skills were honed at a young age within the famed La Masia academy system at Barcelona.
It has come as no surprise to see him settle quickly in English football, with an eye-catching Premier League debut made off the bench in a 2-0 victory over Chelsea.
Crouch believes there is more to come from the Spain international, with one of the finest ball-playing midfielders of the modern era adding another touch of class to Liverpool’s squad.
“There is a footballer who looks like he could play the game in his slippers,” ex-Reds frontman Crouch told the Daily Mail of Thiago.
“I watched that cameo at Chelsea last week and you could tell immediately that Thiago had blown people away in his first training session, as everybody wanted to give him the ball.
“Some new signings come in and you know immediately they are a level up.
“I remember Xherdan Shaqiri scoring a hat-trick on his first day at Stoke, in a five-a-side match, when he completed it by lobbing Jack Butland from five yards. The lads looked at each other and said, 'Oh my God!'
“There were some similarities I could see in Thiago with Xabi Alonso. It was the way he gathered the ball, how crisply he passed it. Xabi was a wonderful footballer and he came to my mind when I watched Thiago at Stamford Bridge.
“I know he gave a penalty away but did you see those no-look passes and how he was rolling the ball under his studs?
“There was so much to admire in those 45 minutes and he is going to be a big figure through the rest of the season.”
It remains to be seen whether Thiago’s second outing for Liverpool will come against Arsenal on Monday, with the 29-year-old nursing a knock that may force him to miss out.