Arsenal and Chelsea were offered chance to beat Liverpool to Thiago transfer

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Bayern Munich offered both Arsenal and Chelsea the opportunity to rival Liverpool for Thiago Alcantara’s transfer, according to the Athletic.

The Athletic report that the Bavarians did so in an effort to create a bidding for the midfield maestro, but no other concrete interest ever materialised.

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We recently reported that Arsenal had been offered the signing of Alcantara, but that Dani Ceballos always remained their priority, and the Spaniard did indeed end up returning for another loan from Real Madrid for this season.

The Athletic add that Liverpool will pay an initial fee of €20m for the 29-year-old, who has penned a four-year deal worth £200,000-a-week with the Reds.

Jurgen Klopp’s side officially confirmed the capture of the playmaker yesterday, bolstering their already stacked midfield ranks.

Thiago Alcantara flourished in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Thiago registered three goals and two assists in 40 appearances across all competitions last term, the ace turned in some particularly impressive performances once the Champions League resumed.

The Spaniard is a much more creative option that any of Liverpool’s other midfielders, with Thiago shaping up to be an ideal kind of player to craft chances for the Reds’ fearsome attacking trio.

Considering that the Merseyside outfit ran away with the title last season, it’s surprising to see that top clubs like Chelsea or Arsenal didn’t consider competing with the Reds for this signing.

Arsenal will likely be happy with Ceballos coming back to give them that kind of quality in midfield, but Chelsea arguably lack a player like that and could have done with Thiago as an upgrade on the likes of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.

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