Manchester City have reportedly set their sights on Thiago Alcantara, and are weighing up a bid worth £50 million for the Bayern Munich midfielder.
According to a report by Daily Mail, Pep Guardiola is keen to be reunited with Thiago Alcantara in the summer transfer window. The Manchester City manager is set to launch the offensive for the Bayern Munich midfielder, who could cost £50 million.
Thiago has seen his career take off since joining Bayern Munich from Barcelona in the summer of 2013. Over the last five years, the player has not just established himself as a mainstay in midfield for Die Roten, but also as one of the best creative midfield forces in the world, even drawing comparisons with Spain legend Xavi.
This season, injuries have been the spoilsport for Thiago, but he has managed to be a regular whenever fit and available, making 24 appearances in all. But, his future could lie away from Allianz Arena, with newly crowned Premier League champions Manchester City interested in the former Barcelona man.
Bayern Munich have secured the services of Leon Goretzka, who will complete his move from Schalke in the summer. The German’s arrival will stock up the midfield quite heavily, with the likes of Arturo Vidal, Javi Martinez, Corentin Tolisso and Sebastian Rudy in addition to Thiago, and it looks likely that at least one player will be sold in the summer, which is where Manchester City come in.
The Citizens are set to enter the market for a creative midfielder in the summer, with Pep Guardiola suggesting in the aftermath of Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday that David Silva is likely to have a lesser role next season, an indication that he will slowly be phased out of the first-team setup in the coming years.
“Next season, David maybe will not play every game, that’s why the squad has to be big,” the Manchester City boss said. Before that though, the Citizens need a quality replacement in midfield for Silva, with Ilkay Gundogan the only other option at Guardiola’s disposal, making Thiago a viable target.
Guardiola is quite clearly a huge admirer of the 27-year-old, having handed him his Barcelona debut before bringing him to Bayern Munich in 2013. It is also under the Manchester City manager that Thiago established himself as a key figure for the Bundesliga champions as well.
Thiago’s current contract with Bayern still has more than three years remaining, which means that the player will not come cheap. The report suggests that Manchester City are considering a £50 million bid for the Spain international, although it remains to be seen if it proves to be good enough to secure the services of the Barcelona academy graduate.
What appears certain is that at least one midfielder from the current Bayern Munich squad will move on in the summer. It will be interesting to see if that player is Thiago, and if he ends up working under Guardiola for the third time after Barcelona and Bayern.
