Paul Merson has ranked his top five midfielders in the Premier League, with one Liverpool star included
The former Arsenal star-turned-Sky Sports pundit has listed his top five midfielders currently featured in the Premier League on his latest column. After choosing Manchester City's De Bruyne as his first choice, former England international Merson added Spain international Thiago as his second choice.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich star joined Jurgen Klopp's team in September 2020 and has developed into one of the key players in the Reds' starting XI after a slow start with injuries.
Merson wrote on his column: “Thiago Alcantara is an unbelievable footballer, he’s a class act. When he doesn’t play, Liverpool are a completely and utterly different team and we’ve seen that a handful of times already this season. When he first joined, there was a lot of talk that he slowed Liverpool down a little, but after he adapted to the pace of the Premier League, there’s been no stopping him!
“I just like the way he plays and moves – he’s always looking forward and is more than comfortable with playing one-touch football when the situation calls for it. I like players who see things on the football pitch before they happen and he’s one of them, which is why I’m such a big fan of him.
“People might be a bit surprised with Thiago’s inclusion at #2, but this is how I see the game and I genuinely believe that this guy is a special player. We’re talking about a world-class player who makes such a huge difference to a team like Liverpool – we saw it first-hand against Ajax when he started the game and absolutely ran the show for his team. These lists are obviously very subjective and could change every week, but Thiago is a player I’ve always rated over the years.”