Nou Camp youngster on his way to Old Trafford.
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Man United are reportedly on the verge of signing highly rated Spanish international Thiago Alcantara according to the Daily Mail.
The 22 year old Barcelona midfielder has already agreed personal terms with the Old Trafford side, a £5m a year deal being set to be penned, and David Moyes will be glad to bring in the stylish youngster as the first major signing of his Man United reign.
Alcantara has greatly impressed during the European Under 21 Championships, captaining Spain to the title and scoring a hat-trick in the final to boot.
Barcelona are seemingly powerless to stop Thiago leaving as a lack of playing time led to playmaker having a greatly reduced release clause, down to £17m from as much as £77m due to the fact that Tito Vilanova simply didn’t have room to use his services on a more regular basis.
The likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas are all ahead of Thiago in the central midfield pecking order so it makes a great deal of sense for the Barcelona bit-part player to seek a new challenge.
Given that Paul Scholes has retired for a second time and Darren Fletcher is still easing himself back into action after a lengthy battle against illness the addition of a quality midfielder is perhaps high up on David Moyes’s list of priorities.
Brazilian Anderson may well be offloaded this summer having failed to make an impact in recent seasons.
Thiago Alcantara started just 15 of Barcelona’s 38 La Liga fixtures last term and has made a total of 98 appearances for Barcelona since making his debut in May 2009.