Barcelona are reportedly planning to bring Thiago Alcantara back to Camp Nou in order to boost their midfield options.
According to a report published by TransferMarketWeb, Barcelona have set their sights on former player and academy graduate Thiago Alcantara over a move in the summer transfer window.
The Spanish international moved to Bayern Munich from Barcelona in 2013 in a €25 million deal. Even though the Catalan giants had given Thiago a contract in 2011 with a €90 million release clause, they failed to give him the required number of minutes because of which his buy-out clause dropped to €18 million.
Thiago’s time at Bayern, though, has been riddled with knee injuries. He has had to overcome two ligament ruptures, because of which he has been out for 118 games in 6 seasons. The former Barcelona man’s most productive season while at the Allianz Arena was 2016-17, when he had a tally of 9 goals and as many assists.
This season, however, does not seem to being as productive – in terms of direct contributions – for Thiago, who is often playing the role of a deep lying playmaker. He has scored 3 goals and has registered no assists in 22 games for Die Roten.
Thiago has been linked with a Barcelona return almost every summer, but a move never seems to materialise. This circus has been called out by Thiago himself, who says he is going to stay put at Bayern Munich till his contract expires, which runs till 2021.
Bayern are already in talks with Thiago to extend his contract, and could be in a lot of trouble if the La Masia graduate ends up moving elsewhere. That is because Bayern’s squad depth is running thin at the moment, and they cannot afford to lose a quality player in a position they will have to reinvest in the near future.
Barcelona, on the other hand, seem to have absolutely no need for the Spanish international. They have five first-team midfielders on their payroll, with Riqui Puig expected to be given senior responsibilities next summer. Moreover, they already possess three players very similar to Thiago in the form of Arthur, Ivan Rakitic and Frenkie de Jong.
However, with Rakitic heavily linked with a move away from the club and Arturo Vidal also having his future up in the air, Barcelona could perhaps, do with a midfield addition, especially considering Sergio Busquets is at the latter stages of his career as well.
If the Blaugrana do, however, end up pursuing Thiago, they will have to hatch out at least €40 million even if he is on the last year of his contract. It does not seem worth it, though, since he is already 29 and is nearing the last phase of his career. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Barcelona do end up bringing the Spanish international back to Bayern Munich.
