• Premier League

Arsenal target Thiago Alcantara coy on Barca future

ESPNsoccernet staff
June 18, 2011
Thiago Alcantara admits he is uncertain over his Barcelona future © Getty Images
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Barcelona starlet Thiago Alcantara has put Arsenal and Chelsea on red alert after revealing he would be willing to leave Camp Nou.

Thiago, who is currently representing the Spain Under-21 team in Denmark, is rated as one of the finest talents to emerge from the Barcelona academy in recent times and has been promoted to the first-team squad for next season.

However, reports have suggested that the 20-year-old midfielder could be on his way out of the club if Barca sign Cesc Fabregas this summer, with both Chelsea and Arsenal said to be considering a bid.

His father and agent, Mazinho, recently dismissed reports of a part-exchange deal with Arsenal when he said: "His future is at Barcelona. The boy does not want to leave the club or be involved in a deal with Cesc Fabregas. Nobody at the club has told us that Thiago will not be here next season. It is his ambition to be successful at Barcelona."

However, Thiago has now suggested he would be ready to move on if Pep Guardiola is unwilling to offer him regular first-team football in the coming season.

"I would be lying if I said that my dream is to succeed at Barca," he told Spanish news agency EFE. "My dream is to succeed in football. I want to be a player who people remember forever."

Asked whether he would still be at Camp Nou next season, he said: "I don't know. I have a two-year contract. For now, I'm only thinking about winning the European Under-21 Championships, and securing my place in the [2012] Olympic team. Then I will go on holiday, and then I will return for pre-season.

"Guardiola is a coach who has shown trust in me and the change this year is that I'll be in the first-team squad. We'll see."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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