Is Thiago Alcantara the perfect fit for Manchester United?

Thiago Alcantara

Why should he choose Manchester United

According to reports in Catalan newspaper (Sport), Thiago has informed Barcelona of his intentions to leave after having discussions with Vilanova.

There is no secret about Manchester United’s interest in him, but there has been recent speculation that Bayern Munich may also be interested in the midfielder. If he is keen on leaving Camp Nou in search of regular first-team action, then a move to the Bavarian club with a midfield containing the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez, Toni Kroos, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller and Luiz Gustavo makes very little sense, even if his former Barca manager Pep Guardiola is set to take over this summer.

The same goes with Manchester City and Chelsea as he won’t be the first choice in midfield in either of the teams.

At United, Thiago would take centre stage and almost be guaranteed of regular action because there is no midfielder in the whole squad that is anywhere near his level.

Michael Carrick and Shinji Kagawa come near to him, but the former would merely be a player that compliments the Barcelona youth graduate rather than impede his path to regular first-team football, while the latter plays in a different position.

He would easily be the first choice in midfield ahead of Tom Cleverley, Anderson and Darren Fletcher as they lack the quality and creativity that the young Spaniard possesses.

How will he fit in at Manchester United?

Manchester United fans might be thinking at this point “if he can’t even get to play 30 minutes of 60% of games at Barcelona in a season, then how could he be a great signing for us?”

The answer is because he is simply good enough. Thiago is one of the best young midfielders in world football and has the talent to start for any club in Europe. As stated by Xavi, he is “the future Barcelona”, and it is only his presence that is keeping the young Spaniard out of the starting eleven at the Catalan club.

He is actually the type of player Manchester United need. He has a wider range of passing than any other United player, is capable of playing all across the middle of the pitch, can dictate the tempo of the game, has very good energy and is composed under pressure.

He is very quick and covers the ground easily. He is an athlete who has very high technical skills and that’s what you usually expect from a La Masia graduate.

United don’t have anything like him in their whole squad. He is more dynamic and multi-dimensional than Carrick and could easily slot in the midfield two alongside him. He would make an ideal partner for him and they both would compliment each other perfectly.

He is a mixture of young-and-old Paul Scholes. He has the action-packed, athletic game of a young Scholes, along with the awareness and vision of an older version of Scholes.

If Manchester United are to beat the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the near future then they need someone who can grab hold of the game and dominate possession.

Thiago Alcantara is the answer. He is at a stage of his career where he is ready leave Barcelona and even Spain in search of regular first-team football.

Signing him for just €18million (£15million) would be a bargain and be a huge statement of intent from United and David Moyes.