Monday, 8th July, 2013
Thiago Alcantara will complete his move to Manchester United by next week on an €18m deal with Barcelona, according to Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Spaniard’s future came under question at the end of the season, despite his contract extension in 2011 which would have seen him through until 2015.
His release clause would have been €90m but for the fact that he was not involved in 60% of Barcelona’s games last season.
He, however, turned in a classy performance for Spain’s Under-21 side at the European Championship in Israel this summer, most famously with a hat-trick that secured the title in a 4-2 win over Italy.
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And as a result, Manchester United’s link has only increased with each passing day and the midfielder is expected to sign a five-year deal at Old Trafford.
The deal is understood to be imminent, with confirmation set to come next Wednesday, less than two weeks since David Moyes was officially unveiled as the new Manchester United manager.
It is expected that Moyes will be able to offer Thiago much more regular football, with Manchester United looking eagerly for their Paul Scholes replacement.
Thiago’s time with Barcelona has seen him make 100 appearances in all competitions with 11 goals since making the reserve grade in 2007.
The question remains whether Barcelona will push ahead with a move for wantaway Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who submitted a transfer request earlier this summer.
Moyes had made clear last week that Rooney is not for sale, but Barcelona could be looking at a swap deal of sorts when negotiating for Alcantara as well.
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