Phil Thompson says any criticism of Thiago Alcantara is misplaced, and argues there is no reason why the 29-year-old can't play with both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in Liverpool's starting team.
The Spanish international signed for the Premier League champions from Bayern Munich last month, with former Irish international captain Kenny Cunningham telling OTB AM recently he felt he was "weak defensively."
However, former Liverpool midfielder and three-time European Cup winner Thompson told the show this morning that Thiago's record speaks for itself.
"No, no, no, no. Kenny is looking at this all wrong. You're talking about two players there who are different. Jordan Henderson is all about energy and he makes things happen, Fabinho is very good in the air, he does what he does.
"Thiago as a number six does what he does because he's won trophies, leagues at Barcelona, he's won the Champions League at Bayern Munich by playing the way that he plays.
"That is his role. If Kenny wants to say 'Maybe he's not a tackler and you don't see him doing this' - he's not third choice.
"Henderson and Fabinho, yes they are very good at what they do, but they don't pass the ball forward like Thiago can do. I think it has been one of those things, there's not many who would be a grade upwards for Liverpool, [but] Thiago has done that."
Thommo also says there is no reason why room can't be created by Jurgen Klopp for all three aforementioned midfielders, with Gigi Wijnaldum a potential departing star from Anfield.
"You could play with both of those players in the side. I love Wijnaldum, but to me there's still a problem there with Wijnaldum in leaving for nothing at the end of the season, which is a worry for me.
"I don't think any teams can let players of his quality just leave for nothing. So that is a worry and we'll have to see how that pans out.
"But I can see the three of those [Thiago, Henderson, and Fabinho] playing in there, but for me Thiago plays all the time.
"I'd play Fabinho, Thiago and Henderson when all are fit. There's no defensive frailties in him [Thiago]. He's just not like Fabinho, he's not like Henderson.
"He's inferior to Fabinho and Henderson... he is weak defensively... I don't think technically he understands how to tackle"
Kenny Cunningham isn't convinced Thiago Alcantara was the signing #LFC needed | #OTBAM @GilletteUK #MadeOfWhatMatters pic.twitter.com/A3WYdeDByO— Off The Ball (@offtheball) September 21, 2020
"He does what he does better than most in European football, that's what you've got to look at.
"Not everybody is Fabinho, not everybody is Henderson - he's better than both of them. That's why it's an upgrade in the signing of him, so I think Kenny's got it totally wrong."
Kenny had spoken a couple of weeks ago about Thiago's arrival on Merseyside, and pointed out what he felt was a deficiency in his game.
I still scratch my head a little bit at the signing," Cunningham said.
"Their squad is strengthened by Thiago's arrival but for me, they’ve spent £30 million on a third-choice no. 6. I think he’s inferior to Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in that role. That’s why I’m surprised they brought him in.
"Thiago is an experienced player and a good technician and we saw a bit of that yesterday but what we also saw were defensive deficiencies. We saw the number of missed tackles, we saw the penalty he gave away. He is weak defensively."
