Recently announced as the new manager of Real Madrid, Julen Lopetegui wants Bayern Munich maestro Thiago to join him at his new club.
Thiago Alcantara joined Bayern Munich along with Pep Guardiola in the summer following the historic treble winning season. Much of the Spaniard’s time at the club has been plagued by injuries, but he has become an important part of the squad in recent seasons.
In fact, during Carlo Ancelotti’s one season in charge of Bayern, Thiago was the best player at the club. He played a key role in the Italian’s system, establishing himself as one of the very best midfielders in Europe while doing so.
This past season didn’t go quite as well for the midfield maestro. He was immediately hit with an injury after Jupp Heynckes took over as interim manager. By the time he returned to full fitness, James Rodriguez had made himself a crucial player for Heynckes, and Thiago found it hard to break back into the starting XI.
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According to numerous reports in recent weeks, Thiago may not be in the plans of future coach Niko Kovac. Bayern’s midfield department is already a bit crowded and will only get more congested with the impending transfer of Leon Goretzka to the club. Thiago Alcantara and Arturo Vidal are both players who could be on their way out this summer.
According to a report from Telemadrid (via Sport English), recently hired Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui wants to bring Thiago to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The pair have worked well together in the past. Lopetegui coached the Spanish U-21 side to their 2013 European victory, when Thiago started in the final against Italy and scored an all-important hat-trick to make himself man of the match.
Lopetegui also put Thiago to good use in his recent qualifying campaign with the Spanish national team. The Bayern midfielder was a key player for Lopetegui’s national side and would surely have been a main player for them in the World Cup had Lopetegui kept his job.
It’d be massively shocking to see Thiago make a move to Real Madrid. A Barcelona youth product, he’s been most often linked with a return to Catalonia. After their failed move for Antoine Griezmann, Barca are rumored to have made the midfield maestro their main transfer target.
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It will definitely be interesting to see where Thiago plays next season, whether at Bayern, in Spain or elsewhere. If he is to make a move, though, Bayern would surely demand no less than €60 million for his signature.