Liverpool FC news today: Thiago setback, award nominations

Here's our Liverpool FC news update for Thursday, 8th February. Thiago suffered another setback that spells bad news.

Thursday was a mixed bag for Liverpool. There were positives - the Premier League announced their monthly award nominations and the Reds received deserved ones.

But the big story revolves around Thiago. The Spaniard has suffered another injury setback and as he nears the end of his contract, this could be a major one.

Here's our Liverpool FC news update.

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Reds nominated for POTM

Liverpool's Conor Bradley and Diogo Jota have both been nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month award in January.

The Reds enjoyed a fine start to 2024 with three wins out of three in the league, scoring four goals in each game to assert their position at the top of the table.

As a result of the impressive calendar month, Liverpool stars Bradley and Jota have been nominated for honours as standouts with their recent showings.

Bradley — a relative unknown to many before the start of the year — got his break following Trent Alexander-Arnold's injury and took his chance with aplomb.

Jota, meanwhile, played all three matches in January, making five goal contributions in total (two goals, three assists).

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Klopp up for manager award

Jurgen Klopp has made the cut for January's Premier League Manager of the Month award. The Liverpool boss oversaw impressive results.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Jurgen Klopp has been nominated for Premier League Manager of the Month. Liverpool enjoyed an incredible month, after all.

It started with a fantastic win over Newcastle United. Liverpool won 4-2 at Anfield with a result that felt like a title statement. The Reds then went to Bournemouth and dominated - Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez each scored a brace in a 4-0 win.

Then came the big one. Liverpool hosted Chelsea at Anfield to end the month and looked incredibly convincing, winning 4-1 and leaving most convinced of their title credentials this season.

All in all, then, Liverpool played three, won three, scored 12 and conceded three. That will see any manager nominated for the award and it may well be enough to see Klopp win it.

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Thiago out again

Thiago Alcantara has suffered a fresh injury blow following his return from a ten-month layoff.

The 32-year-old midfielder made his long-awaited comeback in Sunday's 3-1 defeat Arsenal, coming on for the final few minutes of the game at the Emirates.

After undergoing hip surgery last April, Thiago had initially been expected to link up with his teammates for the start of pre-season, but numerous setbacks delayed his return for half a season.

The Times' Paul Joyce now reports that the former Bayern Munich star, who last started a game for Liverpool over a year ago, "is facing another spell on the sidelines after sustaining a muscle injury" in the weekend's comeback.

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Alexander-Arnold on Liverpool mentality

Trent Alexander-Arnold says the current plan at Liverpool is 'surprisingly easy'. The Reds are chasing four trophies this season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold gave an interview to CNN this week where he talked about Liverpool's objectives for the rest of the season. One stands above all - the right-back wants four trophies.

The Reds are chasing a quadruple right now and doing it well. They're top of the Premier League, into the Carabao Cup final and are right among the favourites in both the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League.

But part of chasing those trophies is a planned mentality. Liverpool need to take things one game at a time, avoiding any thoughts of 'bigger' games to come.

How easy is that, though? Alexander-Arnold had that question put to him by CNN's Darren Lewis.

"It's surprisingly easy [to put the final into the back of his mind]," he said. "It is, it's surprisingly easy. I always think because at this time, every game is almost like a final now."

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Leverkusen plan for Alonso exit

A new report has given a strong hint that Xabi Alonso is leaving Bayer Leverkusen this summer. Liverpool are linked with the Spaniard.

Relevo reports that Bayer Leverkusen are attempting to negotiate with Julen Lopetegui. The Spanish manager is out of work right now, having left Wolverhampton Wanderers just before the start of the season.

The report also claims AC Milan would like to appoint Lopetegui, but the manager hasn't given the go-ahead to anyone just yet. It's a wait-and-see on the former Real Madrid and Spain coach.

Now, the most interesting part of this is unquestionably that Leverkusen are looking at other managers. The report claims they're pushing hard to open discussions with Lopetegiu - a strong sign that they expect a new manager in the summer.

Their current boss is, of course, Xabi Alonso. He has Leverkusen sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga and undefeated in all competitions this season.

That kind of form also has Alonso at the top of Liverpool's shortlist to replace Jurgen Klopp this summer. Klopp will step down as manager, prompting the Reds' big search.

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