Photo by Mauricicho

Reports this week have surfaced that Manchester United have tabled a £15million offer for Barcelona starlet Thiago Alcantara. If this rumour turns out to be true and the Spanish sensation does end up at Old Trafford, then it won’t be long until Sir Alex Ferguson is ruling Europe once again.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has dubbed the young midfielder the ‘Magician’ during the Under-21 Euro championship after the 20-year-old guided Spain to glory with a cheeky, yet beautiful free kick in the 2-0 victory over Switzerland in the final. Thiago showed the arrogance to lob the keeper with a punched shot from 30 yards out to take everyone by surprise and send the Spain fans into raptures.

This type of flair and creativity is exactly what the midfield at Old Trafford is missing.

Thiago shares similar traits to Manchester United player’s player of the year Nani in terms of personality as they share this ability to use arrogance on the football pitch as a way of expressing freedom in their play. The Portuguese winger may have been left out of crucial games in the latter half of the season but there is a reason why his team-mates see him as the most effective player on the pitch and that is down to his confidence in his own ability to create something out of nothing and win the game in an instant. Thiago shares this drive and determination to turn a game on its head in the blink of an eye, and this is what makes him special.

It is clear for all to see that the Barcelona youth product is a star in the making and Pep Guardiola will not want to lose him to a Champions League rival. The constant pursuit of Cesc Fabregas could be the catalyst in the deal that could lead Thiago to link up with Spanish under-21 team-mate David De Gea at Old Trafford.

Guardiola sees Fabregas as the long-term replacement for Xavi and so another world class addition to the midfield set up at Camp Nou would leave the Spaniard with few first team opportunities. The Barcelona hierarchy would prefer to let the youngster go out on loan and integrate him into the squad in the coming seasons but as he is now in his twenties, the midfielder is in need of first team action at the highest level.

The one man that can give him that is Sir Alex Ferguson. When you are at Barcelona, the only place to go is down, except for Manchester United.

Ferguson accepts that his side are currently second best in the grand scheme of things and knows he needs to rejuvenate his side to overhaul Barcelona on the European stage. With time running out for the Scotsman, who is unlikely to stay at the club for more than three more seasons, he is determined to make sure he creates a lasting legacy at the club full of the next stars of the game.

After finally knocking Liverpool off their perch domestically, Manchester United’s attention now turns to Europe and overtaking Barcelona, and the best way to start is by stealing one of their own.

With the class of ’92 slowly drifting away from Old Trafford, it is time to create the new superstars at the Theatre of Dreams starting with the ‘Magician’ lighting up the void left by Paul Scholes. And finally bringing back that arrogance to the Manchester United way of playing that the club so desperately needs.