Reports: Pep Guardiola eyeing a move for Bayern Munich star
What’s the rumour?
Reports from the Daily Mail claim that Pep Guardiola is weighing up a move for Bayern's Thiago Alcantara. The duo enjoyed three extremely successful seasons at the German club and Guardiola reportedly wants another reunion with the player.
In case you didn't know...
A Barcelona youth product, Thiago struggled to cement his place at Barcelona due to the brilliance of Xavi and Iniesta and also due to injury concerns. He was sold to Bayern in 2013 for a fee of around £22 million.
Since then, he has resurrected his career and has gone on to make 145 appearances for the club, scoring 24 goals. He has been pivotal to Bayern's dominance in the league and is held in very high regard by the German club.
He has a contract till 2021 and is valued at around £54 million.
The heart of the matter
Guardiola's City have been a force to be reckoned with all season and are on the verge of winning the English Premier League title. However, he still wants to add more firepower to their midfield and is eyeing up a move for Thiago as per the report.
David Silva, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho are all in their 30s and may not be able to play week in and week out. Thus, Pep wants to sign players to add depth to their squad.
Thiago and Guardiola worked together at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and if reports are true, the duo could be reunited again at City next season.
Rumour rating/probability - 6/10
Although Guardiola's interest in the player may be true, it is very unlikely that Bayern will allow one of their star players to leave the club this summer.
Video: Thiago in action this season
Author’s take
Thiago has evolved into one of the best in his position and is at the peak of his career. He can add instant stell to any team in Europe and thus a move for the 27-year-old looks extremely unlikely to materialise as Bayern will be adamant about keeping the midfielder.