Barcelona are reportedly keen on a reunion with Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
According to Cadena Ser, Barcelona are exploring the possibility of signing Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich. The 25-year-old has Blaugrana roots as he was part of the Barcelona setup before he left for Germany in 2013.
It now appears that the Spanish side are interested in bringing back the industrious workhorse, and could weigh in with a considerable offer at the end of the season. Alcantara has gone from strength to strength to become one of Bundesliga’s most effective playmakers.
Barcelona’s sporting director Robert Fernandez was in attendance when Bayern took on Arsenal in the Champions League Round of 16, and came away impressed by the Spanish midfielder’s performance over two legs.
The Catalan club lost a considerable amount of money on the sale of the Spaniard as they had to let go of him for a cut-price value of €18 million due to a clause in contract that stated that he should be involved in 60 percent of the club’s matches.
The then Bayern manager Pep Guardiola was a fan of Alcantara during his time as Barcelona boss, and was more than happy to match his asking rate and complete the player’s signing on a permanent basis.
Alcantara showed tremendous promise in Barcelona’s La Masia academy. But, under the tutelage of Guardiola at the Allianz Arena, the 25-year-old has taken his game to the next level and can now be considered as one of the top midfielders in Europe.
He has even earned the admiration of new manager Carlo Ancelotti who has deployed the former Barcelona midfielder alongside the industrious duo of Arturo Vidal and Xabi Alonso to form one of Europe’s most menacing midfield trio.
The 25-year-old may well be the missing piece in the puzzle for the Barcelona midfield as they have craved to find a right mix of players in that department to get the job done. The Catalans have been far from dominant in the league and were also humiliated by PSG in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 game.
Since Xavi’s departure, Barcelona have not found the ideal midfielder who could offer the team what he could during his hay day. While Alcantara is yet to reach the heights of the Blaugrana icon, he is certainly on the right track to probably match his level in the coming years.
Barcelona’s El Clasico rivals Real Madrid have also been keeping an eye on the Bayern marksman, and could swoop in for him should Isco decide to leave. It will be interesting to see which of the two Spanish rivals comes out in front should Bayern be willing to let go of him.
