Thiago is more in line with Pirlo than Xavi in terms of his style for me.... the problem is that at Barca he has never been allowed to fully express himself, so his dribbling and flair hasn't really come to the fore. For the Spanish U21 sides, again he was almost playing within himself as it was too easy for him, Isco likewise.
Playing Thiago in the hole could work but a) we have enough players for that position in Rooney and Kagawa and b) his skill set is much better utilised from a deeper position and we need him in that centre mid role anyway.
He reminds me of Pirlo in that his set pieces are excellent, I've always thought Xavi's set pieces were a tad overrated but I can definitely see Thiago taking over our Set Pieces and being reknowned for it. He also likes going for the spectacular pass, but he isn't an english hollywood ball player like a Gerrard but he's also not a tiki taka merchant... he assesses the risks and if there's a fair chance of creating a chance, he won't hold back.. suited to our style of play. He's also much more of a goalscorer, I can see him getting 10-20 goals a season with the talent he possesses, no reason why he can't be getting a strong number of goals from midfield as his ability to strike off either foot and the skill level he possesses is top drawer.
As for his footwork, again just like Pirlo in my opinion who is alot more showboaty in his ability to get past players in tight situations, Thiago also possesses great footwork with a great array of tricks. One advantage Thiago possesses is that he has the speed of a winger, so once he beats a man in midfield... if he's bearing down on goal, the opposition centre-backs are in trouble as he's a threat in his own right. Finally he's also very much like Pirlo, quite ambidextrous... whereas the likes of Scholes, Xavi, Iniesta are reluctant to make use of their weaker foots.
