Liverpool are strong favourites to land Thiago Alcantara this summer, after the midfielder held crunch talks with the Bayern Munich hierarchy and reinforced his desire to leave.
Thiago has been reluctant to commit to a new, long term contract with the German champions, and his current deal is set to expire in 2021.
He has been consistently linked with a move to Liverpool, despite the Reds' apparent reluctance to spend big in this summer's transfer window due to the financial constraints triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo, Liverpool are 'very likely' to sign Thiago following his talks with the Bayern top brass.
The 29-year-old sat down with the bosses at Bayern to discuss his future, with the Bundesliga champions hopeful that he would reconsider his position and commit to the club.
However, the very opposite happened, and Thiago informed Bayern that he was insistent on departing.
Having won the Champions League and two La Liga titles with Barcelona, Thiago joined Bayern for €25m in 2013. He has won the league title in each of his seven seasons in Germany, in addition to the DFB-Pokal on four occasions.
With his 30th birthday just nine months away, the Spaniard sees this as his final opportunity to earn a big move, play for another sizeable club and potentially win another league.
Bayern are keen to not lose Thiago on a free transfer, and will demand £27m for him - having previously been holding out for £31m.
Jurgen Klopp has informed the Liverpool board that he is 'happy' for the Reds to pursue the Spanish international, but any deal will be determined by the long term future of Georginio Wijnaldum.
The midfielder has one year remaining on his contract at Anfield. Talks regarding a new deal between the club and player have been rumbling on, and although moving in the right direction, a fresh contract is yet to be confirmed.
Source : 90min