Barcelona are reportedly looking at the prospect of bringing in Bayern Munich star David Alaba to compete with Jordi Alba for the left-back slot.
ESPN and their sources claim Barcelona are looking into the possibility of signing David Alaba in the current transfer window. The versatile Bayern Munich star is on their radar, with the La Liga champions looking at adding a quality player at the left-back position to compete with Jordi Alba for a spot in the starting eleven.
The report says that David Alaba was offered to Barcelona by his agent a few weeks ago, which is interesting, considering the fact that the Austrian international has enjoyed the confidence of all the managers at Bayern Munich, including current boss Niko Kovac.
The hype around David Alaba has somewhat died down in the last couple of years. But, the Austrian international has always been regarded as one of the hottest properties in European football, primarily after establishing himself as a regular at Bayern Munich in the 2011-12 season.
Over the years, Alaba has accumulated 344 senior appearances for Bayern Munich, and 20 trophies to show during his stay at the club so far. But, the 2018-19 season saw Bayern Munich have to make a strong comeback to win the Bundesliga over Borussia Dortmund while the giants continued their recent history of faltering in the Champions League.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have been dominant in the domestic circuit. But, they have struggled in the Champions League. A major reason of their struggles is thought to their defence and the overall mentality of the players, with Barcelona succumbing to two large comebacks in recent Champions League knockout history.
David Alaba could bring in some much needed winners mentality into the squad. Although, a more important and attributable part will be that Alaba could serve as a better alternative to Jordi Alba, who has shown signs of regression in form and quality of service over the last year.
The Austrian could also be looking to add that elusive Champions League trophy to his long list of titles at club level. Another important aspect of Barcelona’s potential pursuit of Alaba is that the Austrian can play as a centre-back and as a defensive midfielder.
Thus, the 27-year-old could act as a cover for the likes of Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti as well as Sergio Busquets. Alaba is as explosive, if not more, as Alba, with a hint of superiority when it comes to the technical aspects.
Barcelona are looking at various candidates to add to the left-back area. But, the Catalans will need to sell as well, owing to their lavish spending so far in the summer, along with rumours of the club wanting to bring Neymar back. Everything will hinge on whether they can generate funds through player sales to effectively, be within the Financial Fair Play regulations.
