Having lost Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona this summer, Arsene Wenger is keen to see Thiago Alcantara move in the opposite direction in the January transfer window.
With some of the money from both Fabregas and Samir Nasri’s transfers still unspent, in addition to a relatively quiet transfer window prior to their departures, Wenger should have considerable financial backing in the January window should he decide to strengthen his squad.
Seen as a like for like replacement for Fabregas, Wenger will have to hope that his team can get through to January and still remain in contention for European qualification, and then the addition of Thiago can further help their bid for European football.
Unfortunately for Wenger, Thiago has made a good start to the season for Barcelona, scoring one and adding two assists in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Villarreal on the opening day of the season, therefore adding a fair amount to the club’s valuation of him.
Although now officially a member of Barcelona’s first-team, unlike last season when he was registered to their ‘B’ side but made several appearances for their first-team, the arrival of Fabregas has arguably pushed Thiago even lower down the pecking order, and the midfielder may be open to a move away from Camp Nou is January should he not receive enough game time.
Spanish media Cadena Ser has mooted a possible figure of €20M as being enough to satisfy Spanish giants Barcelona, and it is not all that suprising when you consider Thiago’s good start to the season, as well as Barcelona’s dislike for losing their young talented players.
Although Wenger could well be backed with this much money, it is not in his nature to pay this much for a player, even one of Thiago’s ability, and he will certainly look to negotiate a lower price for the midfielder, especially as they have already acquired the playmaking abilities of Mikel Arteta.
