Thiago closer to Old Trafford move?

It is being reported by a ‘Barcelona friendly’ newspaper over in Spain that Manchester United could in fact sign Thiago Alcântara in the coming weeks, after it seemed that any deal for the player would be scuppered by Barcelona’s ‘dirty games’ in trying to keep the player at the club. Barcelona in fact made the initial mistake by not playing him for a certain number of matches last season, thus allowing his release clause to lower from €90 million to a bargain €18 million, which many clubs would be willing to pay for such a talented young player.

Thiago’s release clause is only available for the month of July, with it returning to €90 million on the 1st August (according to Mundo Deportivo). On Saturday, Thiago tweeted a picture via instagram which said “I love Barcelona”, which led to may United supporters suggesting that this deal was rather like the one that saw Brazilian midfielder Lucas Moura chose Paris St Germain over Manchester United last summer. Personally I don’t read into tweets like that as there could be 1,001 different meanings, the main one being he actually loves Barcelona the city, meaning he has missed it while he has been away and is likely to miss it should he leave it. Of course it could have also been an early indication that he could be set to sign a new deal for the club, yet nothing has materialised, which still suggests this protracted move is still up in the air.

Last week it was suggested that Thiago was keen on linking up with Spanish U21 team-mate David De Gea at United, but Barcelona wanted a buy back clause inserted into the deal, which would turn the move into a glorified loan deal. Thiago’s camp also suggested that United would need to guarantee the player first team action, something they seemed unwilling to do, as no player is bigger than the club. This left the deal somewhat from being completed.

The news coming from Spain today seems to suggest that United have thought about the transfer, perhaps David Moyes has said it wants it done whatever it takes. Obviously the fee will be €18 million and wages are apparently agreed depending on which news source you read, it is literally just specifics of the deal. Thiago just wants to play football and wants to be given that chance wherever he goes. He seems to want a clause inserted in his contract, similar that that from Barcelona allowing him for leave for a set price, of which €20 million has been quoted in the Spanish press (Sport.es). I think it is fair that he doesn’t want to end up playing for another team and not get the chances he deserves. He also wants to guarantee that he will continue to be developed as a player and will be looked upon as an important player.

After the last season at Barcelona, when he was actually ready to take more of a lead role, he was not given that chance. Personally I believe Thiago will have a great future ahead of him and that he will develop into a world class player in a few years time. Say he asked to be guaranteed 30 starts a season, United have 38 matches in the Barclays Premier League, at least six in the UEFA Champions League and are guaranteed at least one in the Capital One Cup and the Budweiser FA Cup, but we expect United to progress further in all tournaments, which means there will be more matches available. So for instance out of say 46 matches, Thiago starting in 30 of them would not pose much of a problem, and this is just me assuming he wants to guarantee 30 starts a season, it could be more or less.

Thiago is the type of player United would benefit from and if the rumours linking Kevin Strootman to the club are anything to go by, both could be at the heart of the midfield for years to come. I think Thiago should be given the guarantee’s that he wants, at least he is not demanding more money, which is a good thing and shows that he just wants to play football. It is something that United need to take a chance on. If they spend €18 million on him this summer and if it doesn’t all work out and he plays less than expected, he could be sold for €20 million, which means the club have not lost out as the player will still hold his value.