English interest in thiago

Thiago Alcantara is attracting interest from the Premier League, according to his father and agent Mazinho.

The 18-year-old midfielder is a product of Barcelona's famed Youth Academy, making the breakthrough into the first-team fold at Camp Nou towards the end of last season. Although restricted to only a handful of cameo appearances so far, the Italian-born youngster has offered enough to suggest he could be a potential star of the future.

The pressure of turning out for Barcelona does not appear to faze him, with the Spain Under 19 international scoring his first senior goal for the club in Saturday's 4-0 victory over Racing Santander. Barca hold Thiago in high regard and are keen to retain his services, but his current contract in Catalunya is set to expire in June.