At the age of 22, young Barcelona midfielder, Thiago Alcantara has already achieved quite a lot and it would be disappointing for the club to see him leave, seeking a new challenge
It is quite something out of the ordinary that Barcelona are facing a tough task of convincing highly sought-after star Thiago Alcantara to stay at Camp Nou, a place where he made a name for himself. The young Spain Under-21 playmaker has seen his stock rise to astronomical proportions during the recently-concluded UEFA Under-21 European Championships in Israel.
In the final, it was the young playmaker whose three goals made sure that La Rojitas won back-to-back European Under-21 Championships. A product of La Masia, Thiago Alcantara do Nascimento spent three seasons impressing for the club’s B team before getting eased into the senior setup.
Despite his age, the midfielder has not really shown any difficulties in adapting to the senior setup and has marshalled the midfield admirably whenever called upon. However the Spanish international has failed to establish himself as a first team regular and this might instigate him to seek a new challenge somewhere else.
At the age of 22, Thiago wants to play week in week out in order to further develop his game and become a regular face in Spain’s starting XI. The youngster is arguably one of the hottest prospects in Europe at the moment and in due time, could even be the heir to Xavi Hernandez.
However, his time at Barcelona has seen him mostly struggle for a place in the starting XI which is not due to his ability. Rather, it is the presence of Xavi and Iniesta that has resulted in the player warming the bench quite often.
Though he is not the finished article, Thiago can potentially be as good as Xavi who at the age of 33, is rapidly reaching the twilight of his career. Blessed with excellent distribution and close control, Thiago is exactly the kind of player who can fill the void that will be left following the retirement of his mentor.
Manchester United are currently in pole position to acquire the player’s services. New manager, David Moyes, is a an avid admirer of the Spaniard and understandably, wants the player at Old Trafford in order to fill another void that has been left following the second and most probably final retirement of Paul Scholes.
The 2012/2013 season should have been a breakthrough campaign for Thiago. However, he made just 15 league appearances. And whenever he used to be given chances, Thiago quite often showed inconsistency which could be the reason why he still does not have the complete trust of Tito Vilanova.
However, it should be noted that at the age of 22, Thiago is still going through a learning curve and will need time to develop into a player Barcelona expect him to be. In order to help him realise his full potential, it is important for Barcelona to convince the player that he is at the right club and that he will get plenty of chances to make the starting spot his.
In the final, it was the young playmaker whose three goals made sure that La Rojitas won back-to-back European Under-21 Championships. A product of La Masia, Thiago Alcantara do Nascimento spent three seasons impressing for the club’s B team before getting eased into the senior setup.
Despite his age, the midfielder has not really shown any difficulties in adapting to the senior setup and has marshalled the midfield admirably whenever called upon. However the Spanish international has failed to establish himself as a first team regular and this might instigate him to seek a new challenge somewhere else.
At the age of 22, Thiago wants to play week in week out in order to further develop his game and become a regular face in Spain’s starting XI. The youngster is arguably one of the hottest prospects in Europe at the moment and in due time, could even be the heir to Xavi Hernandez.
However, his time at Barcelona has seen him mostly struggle for a place in the starting XI which is not due to his ability. Rather, it is the presence of Xavi and Iniesta that has resulted in the player warming the bench quite often.
Though he is not the finished article, Thiago can potentially be as good as Xavi who at the age of 33, is rapidly reaching the twilight of his career. Blessed with excellent distribution and close control, Thiago is exactly the kind of player who can fill the void that will be left following the retirement of his mentor.
Manchester United are currently in pole position to acquire the player’s services. New manager, David Moyes, is a an avid admirer of the Spaniard and understandably, wants the player at Old Trafford in order to fill another void that has been left following the second and most probably final retirement of Paul Scholes.
The 2012/2013 season should have been a breakthrough campaign for Thiago. However, he made just 15 league appearances. And whenever he used to be given chances, Thiago quite often showed inconsistency which could be the reason why he still does not have the complete trust of Tito Vilanova.
However, it should be noted that at the age of 22, Thiago is still going through a learning curve and will need time to develop into a player Barcelona expect him to be. In order to help him realise his full potential, it is important for Barcelona to convince the player that he is at the right club and that he will get plenty of chances to make the starting spot his.
