Manchester United are reportedly set to battle their neighbouring rivals Manchester City in the summer pursuit of ‘unhappy’ Barcelona superstar Jordi Alba.
Manchester Evening News is reporting that Manchester United are the latest club to enter the race for Barcelona superstar Jordi Alba. The defender is reportedly ‘unhappy’ at his current status at Nou Camp and have been attracting interest from Manchester City. And now, the red half of the city has joined the blue half as well.
Jordi Alba is one of the products of La Masia who left the club for Valencia in search of a better prospect to find first-team experience, only to be signed back by Barcelona in 2012, once he proved his mettle and established himself as a formidable left-back in not just the league but in Europe as well.
Alba has never looked back since. 188 senior appearances for Barcelona, with a return of 9 goals and 27 assists in less than 5 years, is a testament to his ability. But, this season, he has not been at the receiving end of much game time and his status in the team seems to have gone down a notch under Luis Enrique.
This season, he has appeared in just 18 La Liga games and while the numbers are decent, considering he missed some games due to an injury layoff, Alba is reportedly unhappy at the rotational policy of Luis Enrique.
The Spanish international was left out of Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Valencia over the weekend; something that was also the case in Barcelona’s historic Champions League comeback aggregate win over PSG, with the player not being chosen in the starting lineup in the second leg.
This has caused Alba to get frustrated, who recently admitted to being bereft of confidence within the Barcelona setup and aimed a dig of sorts, at Enrique by lamenting that he felt more at home within the National Team setup than at Nou Camp.
Happy Birthday Jordi Alba pic.twitter.com/qTcLEcxLTE
— 8 Troll Football (@8TrollFootball) March 21, 2017
“ I feel the total confidence of the boss here [in the Spain camp], which for me is a compliment and something that fills me with confidence. It’s something I’m not having at Barcelona and that I’d maybe like to have,” Alba, who turned 28 on Tuesday, told Movistar+, according to Goal.
Manchester City are looking to freshen up their options in the wide defensive areas and have been linked to the likes of Danny Rose and Aaron Martin Caricol among others. Guardiola, though, would prefer someone like Alba, who is in line with the footballing philosophy he is trying to establish at Etihad.
But, Manchester United have also joined their neighbours, as per the report. Luke Shaw is reportedly set to exit the club in the summer, after not being handed opportunities by Jose Mourinho, who still is hopeful that Shaw stays to fight for his place in the setup.
Manchester United are keeping tabs on Jordi Alba as doubts over Luke Shaw’s future continue. (Source: Manchester Evening News) pic.twitter.com/qpQOpeFhoq
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) March 22, 2017
However, if he does end up leaving or fails to grasp the opportunity, if and when it comes his way, Manchester United are looking at other options to fill the gap with. Jordi Alba is an established player and would again show United’s ability to attract the best of the best in the footballing world.
The player is contracted to Barcelona till 2020, which means the 28-year-old is likely to command a transfer fee in the region of £25 million as per the report, one, though, both the suitors are more than able to afford.
Also, as per the report, the player is open to a move to the red half of Manchester, with Alba reportedly an admirer of the club and Jose Mourinho, as per a source close to the player, which may, in turn diminish City’s chances of landing the 28-year-old, if United do come into the picture.
Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are both set to shuffle their squads in the summer and it would be interesting to see how the two squads shape up, regardless of who signs whom.
