Bayern Munich would rather sell Thiago Alcantara now on the cheap than lose him for nothing in a year when his contract expires and he becomes a free agent, and as a result, the German giants have lowered their asking price to £27M.

That’s the story today from The Athletic’s German football expert Raphael Honigstein, at least, with the journalist saying that Bayern have come down to £27M (€30M) this week after previously holding out hope for a fee closer to £36M (€40M).

That new fee is closer to what rumors over the past month have suggested a deal might get done at, but if it’s Bayern’s new starting point rather than a number they might grudgingly agree to it would seem to signal a growing desperation.

Given all the talk of Thiago to Liverpool, the only two real alternatives are that the player is set on joining Jürgen Klopp at Anfield. Or, alternately, that the player’s agent or Bayern themselves have been using Liverpool’s name to try to drum up business.

If it’s the latter, then it would seem they haven’t had much luck, and in either case, it would appear Bayern’s bargaining position isn’t especially strong in a market deflated by coronavirus and with Thiago’s contract now entering its final year.

However, for Liverpool fans who are hoping Thiago gets signed, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s latest update on the matter will be a blow, with the German club chief saying that they have yet to have any contact with the English champions.

“We have read a lot about Liverpool, but they haven’t contacted us yet,” he told Bild today. However, he did add that at the club’s post-Champions League gathering it had “looked very much like he had decided to say goodbye.”

SBNation