Thiago's Father in talk with Barca's President on improving his Contract

Thiago the Prime of U21 Silverware

The 22-year-old's father Mazinho met with Barcelona president Sandro Rosell on Friday to discuss the prospect of an improved contract at Camp Nou.

Manchester United's hopes of signing Thiago Alcantara are in doubt after the midfielder was given assurances of an improved deal by Barcelona.

The 22-year-old's father Mazinho met with the Spanish club's president Sandro Rosell on Friday, when the prospect of a revised contract was discussed, so Thiago now has a concrete offer which would allow him to remain at Barcelona.

But the Spaniard could still opt to join United in a move worth just €18 million after the value of his release clause plummeted having failed to participate for a stipulated amount of minutes in 2012-13.

Reports in Spain have suggested that the youngster is unhappy with a lack of playing time at Camp Nou and is concerned that a lack of improvement regarding his squad status will jeopardise his chances of featuring at next summer's World Cup with Vicente del Bosque's Spain side.

The midfielder has not publicly expressed his desire to move clubs this summer but he insisted through Spain's Under-21s European Championship campaign that his future will be addressed after the tournament.

Thiago was one of Spain's standout players in Israel and his hat-trick helped Julen Lopetegui's side secure a 4-2 victory over Italy.

David Moyes, who will officially begin his reign as United manager on July 1, has identified Thiago as one of his priority transfer targets this summer.

United's veteran midfielder, Ryan Giggs, labelled Thiago as a "big talent" earlier in June. "I've seen him in several games," the former Wales international told Marca.

"He's a good player but there's always a lot of speculation with United and good players. We'll see if it happens in the end but he's a big talent."