Manchester United will be one of the leading candidates to land Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara in the summer, after the player's father Mazinho admitted it could be time for his son to leave the Camp Nou.

Thiago has failed to break into the Barca first team on a consistent basis this season, which is understandable considering the wealth of talent at the disposal of Tito Vilanova, and United are now ready to reignite their interest, according to the Daily Mail.

Barca, however, do rate the 21-year-old very highly and sees him as the long-term replacement for the midfielder maestro Xavi Hernandez.

However, Xavi still has a few years left in him and Thiago's dad Mazinho, a former Brazilian international, said his son's patience might be running out.

"My son would play a lot more in any other team in the world," Mazinho was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "He's learning a lot playing with great players but Thiago is very ambitious and needs to play.

"No-one knows what might happen in the future. Football changes a lot and anything can happen. If Thiago wants to go to the 2014 World Cup, he needs to play much more.

"Thiago has the quality to succeed at Barca. But he'd play a lot more at another club. He'd get into any other team in the world.

"I don't know if Barca are buying more players in the summer. They already have a lot of players who can play in the middle. Also, (his brother) Rafinha will be part of the first team squad next season."

United reportedly had a £15 million ($22.5 million) bid rejected by Barca a couple of years ago, but Sir Alex Ferguson believes another bid of around the same amount might force the Spanish club's hand.

It will all depend on the player of course; if Thiago indeed does ask for a move away, Barca have no choice but to sell.