Spanish news outlet, Mundo Deportivo has reported that Barcelona are looking to further bolster their squad ranks by signing Bayern Munich’s David Alaba in the summer. The 25-year-old has been with the Bundesliga giants since he was just a teenager and is currently their number one left-back.
Blessed with a terrific left foot, Alaba can play in multiple positions including as a central midfielder which he does for the Austrian national team. The Vienna-born defender is a talent of his own and has been breaking strides in the Bundesliga for some time now. He has won the prestigious league title a staggering 6 times and also helped Bayern secure the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League trophy. It does not stop there. Alaba has been named as the Austrian player of the year – 6 consecutive times.
Breaking into a star-stacked Munich squad which boasted of talents like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, but yet Alaba did at just 19 years of age. The decorated Austrian is highly valued in the Bayern ranks and has a mutual loyalty which might just see him end his career there. But in the world of monumentally priced trades where players are constantly on the move for professional betterment, who can really say for sure?
Bayern are going through a slump right now in the European stage. After their Champions League victory 4 and a half years ago, they have failed to meet the lofty standards of La Liga giants – Barcelona and Real Madrid with latter winning it 2 years in a row. Barcelona are supercharged this season to topple their direct rivals as both domestic and as the European champions.
Alaba’s ambitions lie in creating a legacy and for that, he needs a massive overhaul of silverware. However, Barcelona already possesses one of the world’s best left-backs in Jordi Alba. A product of the La Masia academy and a Spanish international with a 39 assists tally for the Catalan side. Jordi Alba’s contract is set to end in the summer of 2020 and is currently the first-choice left-back under Ernesto Valverde.
It is fair to say that, if Alaba arrives at Camp Nou, Jordi Alba might be forced to make a club exit which is highly unlikely in the current climate. Barcelona have already made quality additions on both ends of the pitch in Philippe Coutinho and Yeri Mina and now they just need to assemble the squad well enough to dominate on both the domestic and European campaign. A further unnecessary addition will only break up the team’s chemistry ahead of a very promising future.
