As per one of the latest reports by talkSPORT, Manchester City are interested to lure Thiago Alcantara to the Etihad Stadium in the summer. The Cityzens are apparently willing to roll out £50million to make him sign on the dotted line. However, their arch rivals, Manchester United are also monitoring him closely as per The Sun.
Alcantara emerged through the youth ranks of Flamengo, Ureca, Kelme, Flamengo and Barcelona. He made an impact whilst he was in the ranks of Barcelona B and was soon called to the first team of the Spanish giants. In the summer transfer window of 2013, he moved to Bayern Munich when Pep Guardiola was their manager and Guardiola was the architect of his transfer.
The Spanish international is a versatile player and is capable of plying his trade as a central midfielder, central attacking midfielder, central midfielder as well as a winger. He is an astute passer of the ball and is someone who creates chances as well scores goals. Besides, he is good in the air and is quite technical too and should fit perfectly under the tutelage of Guardiola.
Moreover, he shields the back line meticulously and goes into making notable tackles and interceptions time and again. Alcantara has raw pace in his legs and dribbles with relative ease and there is no denying that he is a set-piece specialist as well. He dictates the game from the middle of the park and is a natural replacement for the likes of Toure and Silva.
In 15 appearances in German Bundesliga this season, the 27-year-old has notched up 2 goals and 1 assist and has garnered a pass completion rate of 91.6%, which is quite appealing to say the least. Besides, he has smashed 3 goals in 8 appearances in the Champions League, with a pass accuracy of 90.9%, and has a goal to his name in an appearance in DFB Pokal.
With Yaya Toure, David Silva and Fernandinho is their thirties, Guardiola needs some freshness in his arsenal in the summer. Manchester City have bulldozed past their opponents in the league with relative ease and given that they have the required ammunition in their arsenal at this stroke of hour, he needs to go for quality instead of quantity. The former Bayern Munich boss is well acquainted with Alcantara and he would be a shrewd signing for his side.
