• Head coach wants Spain midfielder to follow him to the Etihad Stadium • Negotiations for Thiago expected to start at around £25m

Pep Guardiola is targeting Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcântara as one of his major signings this summer when he becomes Manchester City head coach.

Thiago was taken to Bayern from Barcelona by Guardiola for around £17m when the Spaniard moved from the Catalan club in 2013. The Spain international signed a new contract last summer that ties him to Bayern until 2019 so negotiations for the 24-year-old would start in the region of £25m.

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Yaya Touré’s future at City is in doubt but even if the Ivorian stays Guardiola wants to add at least one midfielder. Thiago fits the profile of a technically astute playmaker and the Spaniard’s admiration was indicated by him being the sole player he took with him from Barça to Bayern.

Last May, when Bayern met Barça in the Champions League semi-final, Thiago stated that he had a mutual admiration for Guardiola. “Pep has always had a lot of faith in me, and me in him, so if he was still the coach then yes, probably,” Thiago said, when asked if he left Barça because Guardiola did.

Since recovering from three serious knee injuries in succession that ruled him out for a year until March 2015, Thiago has began to play some of the finest football of his career.

This term he has made 31 appearances in all competitions for Bayern, scoring four times, and played twice for Spain. He is in the national team squad for Spain’s upcoming internationals against Italy and Romania.