Real Madrid are set to renew interest in former Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara in the summer, with the Spaniard an expendable option at Bayern Munich.
According to Spanish publication Don Balon, former Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara could be on the chopping block at Bayern Munich, with the Bavarians having secured the signature of Leon Goretzka, who will join in the summer. And Real Madrid are reportedly looking to bring the player over to the Bernabeu in the summer.
With Leon Goretzka’s impending arrival at Bayern Munich, the club will be over-staffed in midfield. The likes of Arturo Vidal, Thiago Alcantara and Corentin Tolisso will be joined by Goretzka as options for central midfield.
Jupp Heynckes usually deploys a maximum of one or two central midfielders in the starting eleven. Add to it the fact that Renato Sanches is also set to return to the club at the end of the season, and it is not too difficult to justify the report that Thiago has now become an expendable option at Bayern Munich.
Kicker strongly imply one of Thiago Alcantara or Arturo Vidal will be leaving FC Bayern, due to the arrival of Leon Goretzka. Christian Falk of SportBild says it will be Vidal. Gathering steam.
— Kevin (@FussbalIKevin) February 8, 2018
Thiago has established himself as one of the most enterprising midfielders in world football since moving from Barcelona to Bayern Munich. The player was a starter under Pep Guardiola at the Allianz-Arena while also being heavily involved under Carlo Ancelotti and now, Jupp Heynckes.
This season though, injuries have prevented him from being a regular fixture for Bayern, with the midfielder managing just 9 Bundesliga appearances so far. Leon Goretzka’s arrival should see him share his game time even more, instead of which Bayern Munich are looking to cash in on the former Barcelona man.
Indeed, his injury history is something that could be pointed as one of the reasons. Also, with the World Cup around the corner, a good performance for Spain could see his stocks skyrocket, a prospect Bayern Munich will definitely look to take advantage of and a prospect that could see Real Madrid renew their interest in the Barcelona academy graduate.
Real Madrid have arguably, one of the most stacked midfields in world football right now. The squad boasts of the perfect mixture of experience and youth, with experienced campaigners like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos being ably assisted by the arrival of Dani Ceballos and the presence of Mateo Kovacic.
But, there are insinuations that the club could offer Luka Modric to Tottenham in order to convince them to give up Harry Kane in the summer, with the Englishman one of the high-priority targets for Florentino Perez. Thus, they could be in need of a new midfield enforcer at Real Madrid, which is where Thiago comes in.
Kicker | Thiago Alcantara is expected to return 1 week later after the match against Wolfsburg on 17 February. He could be ready to play against Besiktas in Round of 16 of Champions League. pic.twitter.com/YWop2PTs1E
— Bayern mania (@Bayern_mania) February 7, 2018
Another factor is Perez’s newfound penchant to build a Spanish core, which Thiago would add to, if he arrives at the Bernabeu. If Bayern do decide to offload Thiago, he could be interested to move to Real Madrid, especially with a return to Barcelona out of question, with the Blaugrana having already brought in midfielders.
Thus, Thiago’s desire for a return to Spain combined with the prospect of being the focal point in midfield for a club of Real Madrid’s stature could see him agree to a move.