Liverpool are convinced Manchester City have entered the race to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara, claims Sport Bild.
Thiago has entered the final 12 months of his current Bayern contract and the Bundesliga champions have already confirmed he wants to leave this summer.
Bayern are willing to sell the 29-year-old in a cut-price €30m (£27.1m) deal and Thiago is desperate to secure a Premier League move.
Thiago's preference is to join Liverpool to work under Jurgen Klopp but the Premier League champions are currently not on the market for a new midfielder.
Liverpool expect a quiet summer due to the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic and will only step up their pursuit of Thiago if Georginio Wijnaldum leaves.
Wijnaldum has also entered the final year of his existing contract but is expected to renew with Liverpool.
In the meantime, Liverpool believe Pep Guardiola wants to reunite with Thiago and that City will put more money on the table to land the Spain international.
Guardiola brought Thiago to Bayern from Barcelona and reportedly wants the midfielder to replace the departing David Silva.
🇩🇪 Of those to have played in more than three Bundesliga seasons since Thiago Alcantara arrived at Bayern in 2013, only Robert Lewandowski has a higher WhoScored rating than the Spaniard
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 17, 2020
🥇 Lewandowski - 7.73
🥈 Thiago - 7.63
🥉 Robben - 7.59 pic.twitter.com/H1Tp3oCsJt
With Silva set to join Lazio at the end of the month, City are weighing up whether to sign a direct replacement or put their faith in Phil Foden to fill the gap.
Of those to have played in more than three Bundesliga seasons since Thiago moved to Bayern in 2013, only Robert Lewandowski (7.73) has a higher WhoScored rating than the Spaniard (7.63).
