Barca will listen to offers for young midfielder.
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Barcelona are supposedly willing to sell young midfielder Thiago Alcantara to Manchester United this summer, as they hope to fund a move for Chelsea’s Juan Mata, according to the Daily Mirror.
United have been targeting the 22-year-old for much of this summer as they seek a replacement for the retiring Paul Scholes, and could be handed a boost in their efforts to sign him now as Barca hope to bring in some money before bringing in new players of their own.
Alcantara has not managed to force his way past the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas in Tito Vilanova’s midfield, but he was for a long time rated as one of the club’s most exciting young players.
This has also attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, but United are likely to step up their interest now as the Spaniard could be available for around £18million.
Barca’s willingness to sell comes from their hearing of some doubt over Juan Mata’s future at Chelsea, with Jose Mourinho supposedly keen to sell the team’s star player as he looks to put his own stamp on the squad inherited from Rafael Benitez.
This will come as some surprise to Chelsea fans, and will be doubly disappointing if it leads to their rivals United signing a good player from Barcelona to help their bid for Mata.