5 potential replacements for Manchester City's David Silva

#4 THIAGO ALCANTARA

Alcantara has worked with Guardiola at Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola will certainly be aware of Thiago Alcantara's incredible quality as a midfielder. It was the City boss who persuaded Thiago to sign for Bayern from Barcelona during his time with the Bavarian champions.

Thiago was a youth prospect at La Masia, which adds an extra strength to his CV as an attacking midfielder. The little Spaniard is deft at scoring goals and creating assists for his forwards. But, being a 25-year-old, Alcantara still hasn't been a regular starter for Bayern.

With the FIFA World Cup fast approaching, the Spaniard must make sure he has maximum game time in order to cement his place in Spain's starting XI. Guardiola could be keen to link up with his former co-worker, guaranteeing him a role in the heart of the attack at Manchester City. Plus, a hefty package and a chance to play in the most competitive league might be hard to turn down for Alcantara.

Thiago scored 6 goals and provided 5 assists in 27 league games for the Bavarians. He created 48 chances, averaging 1.78 per game.