Manchester United sources tell ESPN a deal for Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara is now “very close.” One stumbling block, according to Catalan paper Sportis that the 22-year-old wants a similar contract clause that he currently has at Barca, which would allow him to leave for a set fee if he does not make a certain number of appearances.
ESPN claims that new manager David Moyes has been particularly vocal about pushing a transfer through, especially since United has narrowly missed out on a number of big transfersin the past few summers, including Wesley Sneijder, Eden Hazard, Mesut Ozil, David Silva and Karim Benzema. This time, the source claims United “couldn’t possiblyhave done more” to attract the Spaniard, who netted a hat-trick for Spain in the final of the U21 European Championship this summer, en route to claiming the tournament’s top individualhonor, the Golden Player award.