Liverpool's Thiago Alcantara 'turns down lucrative Saudi Arabia offer'

The Spain international has now entered the final 12 months of his Reds contract and is not thought to be in line for an extension as Jurgen Klopp revitalises his engine room with young players.

Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have both arrived at Anfield this summer, while a possible deal for Romeo Lavia could also push Thiago down the pecking order.

An exit this summer for a nominal fee has been mooted as a result, but Liverpool are thought to be leaning towards letting the 32-year-old leave for free in 2024.

Nevertheless, The Athletic reports that clubs in the Saudi Pro League are testing Liverpool's resolve in the current transfer window, and there is "serious" interest in the Spaniard from the Gulf state.

The report adds that Thiago has already turned down one mammoth contract from an unspecified team, but no side has directly approached Liverpool over a deal yet.

The former Bayern Munich man is said to be solely focused on his return to pre-season training, and he currently has no plans to leave Liverpool ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

Furthermore, Klopp is planning for the upcoming campaign with Thiago in the squad, and the Reds would be happy to see him exit on a free transfer in 12 months' time.

Thiago was regarded as one of Europe's leading midfielders during his time at Bayern Munich, enjoying a trophy-laden seven years in Bavaria before completing a €22m (£18.8m) move to Liverpool in 2020.

Despite concerns over how his style of play might conflict with Klopp's counter-pressing system, Thiago has established himself as an integral part of the Liverpool setup with three goals and six assists from 97 matches.

Thiago has won the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Community Shield on Merseyside, but he made just 14 Premier League starts during an injury-hit 2022-23 campaign.

Liverpool allowed Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to depart the club upon the expiration of their contracts in June, while Arthur's loan deal from Juventus was not made permanent.

Despite signing Szoboszlai and Mac Allister, Liverpool are still rumoured to be pursuing another lynchpin ahead of the 2023-24 season and were tipped to move for Nice's Khephren Thuram.

However, the 22-year-old is now no longer thought to be on Liverpool's radar, while another rumoured target in Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga could instead make the move to Paris Saint-Germain.