Barcelona defender Jordi Alba is reportedly a transfer target for Atletico Madrid, who have already tabled an offer for the Spanish international ahead of the summer.
According to a report from Spanish publication AS, newly-crowned La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are interested in raiding arch-rivals Barcelona for the signing of ace left-back Jordi Alba in the upcoming transfer window.
A product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia youth setup, Alba left the club’s academy in 2005 to link up with Valencia, where he grew into a first-team star before eventually returning to Catalonia in the summer of 2012. Since coming back to Camp Nou, the 32-year-old has been the undisputed starter at left-back, and has firmly established himself as one of the best in his position over the past eight years or so.
Alba, till date, has amassed a whopping 385 appearances for Barcelona and has won numerous titles and trophies. Even though there was a slight dip in his performances over the past couple of seasons, the Spaniard rediscovered his best during the 2020/21 campaign and produced a brilliant tally of five goals and fifteen assists from 49 appearances across all competitions.
However, heading into the summer transfer window, Alba finds himself staring at an uncertain future at Camp Nou. Despite having a contract that runs till 2024, the 32-year-old could be forced out of Barcelona this summer as president Joan Laporta eyes a massive overhaul of the squad after what was a disappointing 2020/21 season for the club.
As per the report, several individuals like Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, Sergi Roberto, as well as Alba, could be let go of as part of the rejig. It is further stated that even if the 32-year-old ends up leaving Barcelona in the summer, he is likely to stay put in La Liga itself as Atletico Madrid are interested in signing him up.
Atletico Madrid, crowned the champions of La Liga for 2020/21, are in need of a new left-back to compete with Renan Lodi, who has blown hot and cold over the course of the campaign. Diego Simeone, to that end, has identified Alba as an ideal target given his experience and reliability. In fact, the report goes on to claim that Atleti have already made an offer to Alba to make the switch to the Wanda Metropolitano in the upcoming window.
Barcelona, on their part, are looking for new left-backs this summer, having made an approach for Robin Gosens while also casting their sights on Patrick van Aanholt, who will be a free agent as his contract with Crystal Palace runs out. Valencia’s Jose Gaya has also been mooted as a transfer target, although a deal for him could be difficult to push through.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Barcelona decide to offload another of their veteran stars in Alba to Atletico Madrid this summer, having done so with Luis Suarez, which came back to haunt them in the title race.