Jurgen Klopp believes that Liverpool are still yet to see the best of midfielder Thiago, who has made a stuttering start to life in the Premier League.
The Spaniard joined the Reds from Bayern Munich ahead of this term, having won seven Bundesliga titles with the German giants.
But he has failed to replicate that form in Liverpool, with Klopp’s side battered by injuries to several key players, including captain Jordan Henderson.
Thiago has also been hit by a significant injury in his debut season on Merseyside, spending more than two months on the treatment table with a knee injury at the start of the campaign.
But despite Reds supporters becoming frustrated with Thiago’s contribution to the team this year, Klopp has moved to defend the 30-year-old.
“Thiago, in a really difficult season, has become a very important player for us,” Klopp said.
“That is the most important thing you can say about him.
“He started really well, then got a bad injury and an annoying one as well because it took really long [to heal] then he came back into the team that is not really clicking.
As a football player, he works a lot and is a good, hard-working guy, but he comes rather from the technical side and was used to different patterns Bayern Munich and all these kinds of things, so it is not just a year where a new signing shines, especially in midfield.”
Klopp also compared Thiago’s struggles with fellow new signing Diogo Jota’s success, but insisted there is much more to come from the former Barcelona star.
“For Diogo [Jota] it was a little easier in situations even though he had an injury as well, because he finished chances and was not so much involved in creating,” Klopp said.
“But creating is the moment where a lot of things have to come together and that is why it was difficult for Thiago, but we are completely happy with him.
“We will see the best of him. I don’t think we saw it already, but that is not a problem. We are 100 per cent convinced we will get the best out of him because he is a world-class player.”
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