What Thiago Alcantara has said about Liverpool amid transfer link

Liverpool beat Aston Villa on Sunday to get back to winning ways in the Premier League. However, one of the biggest talking points has been the increased Thiago Alcantara speculation. Jurgen Klopp did decline to talk in detail about the Thiago transfer rumour following the contest at Anfield yesterday. Klopp said: "Would you be surprised if I didn't answer? He's a good player I like a lot but like many others out there." Any deal for the playmaker looks unlikely with the club understood to not be pursuing the 29-year-old at this stage. Ahead of the clash with Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League during the 2018/19 campaign, Alcantara lavished praise on Klopp's men before the Bundesliga outfit suffered a 3-1 aggregate defeat. "We know perfectly, this team. What they are, what they have," he said prior to the first leg. "They play awesome football these past years, and they increase every year. They are fighting in the Premier League now with the same points as [Manchester] City. "In the Champions League they do it, not so great in performances (Liverpool struggled in the group stage), but they are great. Yeah we are looking forward because we expect a great match, not just against a great team but also a great crowd." Source: Liverpool ECHO