Bayern Munich’s wantaway star David Alaba is reportedly open to a Premier League switch, with Liverpool and Manchester City interested in him.
According to 90 Min, Manchester City and Liverpool have been given a major boost in their pursuit of David Alaba. The Bayern Munich defender, who is expected to leave the Bundesliga, is apparently open to a move to the Premier League as he braces himself for the next step in his career.
Alaba’s current contract at Bayern Munich expires at the end of the campaign. The Bavarians have remained keen on keeping hold of his services, but the defender’s outrageous demands might force them to let him go. So we can expect the player to be available in the market, in the upcoming January transfer window.
The Austrian international was initially eyeing a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid. But the report claims that he would be willing to move to England as well. And there are no shortage of potential suitors either, with Liverpool and Manchester City on his trails.
Manchester City and Liverpool were both keen on securing the services of Alaba in the summer transfer window as well, and it is suggested that both these clubs will come back for him in January, though interestingly, for contrasting set of reasons.
Liverpool, in particular, are desperate to sign a top-class centre-back following the injuries to Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk. Joel Matip has also had fitness problem over the years while Joe Gomez has not had a bright start to the campaign, leaving the Reds quite exposed as far as the defensive department is concerned. In fact, Jurgen Klopp has been keen to sign Ozan Kabak in recent weeks.
But while there are doubts regarding the overall quality of the Schalke centre-back, Alaba might be an ideal solution as the 28-year-old has been playing as a centre-back for Bayern over the past year or so. He could provide the much-needed experience and leadership in the depleted Liverpool backline, and the potential partnership between him and van Dijk could make the Reds perhaps the most solid team in Europe for years to come.
As for Manchester City. they are looking for a left-back as Benjamin Mendy has suffered from various injury problems throughout his career at Etihad. Youngster Oleksandr Zinchenko has had an impressive rise to prominence, but whether or not he can be trusted in high stake encounters remains an open discussion.
That is where Alaba could come into the fray. The Austrian international could be an ideal upgrade over Mendy at left-back thanks to his defensive prowess while he can also be utilised as a left-sided centre-back in case Pep Guardiola deploys a back-three.
More importantly, however, Alaba has worked with Pep Guardiola in the past during their time together at Bayern. So it will be interesting to see if that relationship could play a key role, or if Liverpool swoop him away, as the Bundesliga superstar looks to make the next step in his career.
