Manchester United look set to lose Thiago Alcantara to Bayern Munich, while Kevin Strootman is a confirmed target for Italian club Roma.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Thiago has decided to join former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich. It is believed that the signing could be announced sometime this week.
The news comes as a blow to David Moyes and Manchester United who have been pursuing the player for months as a replacement for Paul Scholes. Based on current squads, United are in desperate need of a center midfield player with the future of Darren Fletcher and Anderson unclear. With Bayern already having Luis Gustavo, Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger playing in center midfield, Thiago must be confident of his chances at replacing one of them. Considering his primary reason for leaving Barcelona as playing-time, a move to Bayern must have come with assurances of time on the field.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has also spoken of the need for Thiago, who was player of the tournament at the UEFA Under-21 European Championships last month, to get games.
"The most important thing for Thiago is that he keeps getting games," Del Bosque is quoted in the Express.
United have also suffered a setback in their pursuit of PSV Eindhoven midfielder Kevin Strootman. Interest in the Dutchman from Roma has been confirmed by PSV technical director Marcel Brands. "Roma have contacted us to tell us that they are interested in Kevin Strootman," Brands told Fox Sports.
Brands confirms that Strootman would only be sold for a big transfer fee, believed to be around £15 million.
"We have told Roma that Strootman is not for sale, and only an important offer could convince us otherwise," Brands continued. "In our opinion, Roma is the only club to be interested in Strootman, but they have made no offer."
Strootman's agent Chiel Dekker confirms that the player is aware of Roma's attention.
"We are aware of the interest and the communication between PSV and Roma," Dekker told De Telegraaf, adding, "but we will only come into action when Marcel Brands gives the signal that both clubs have come to an agreement."
