Bundesliga centre-back open to joining Liverpool but favours LaLiga move
David Alaba is reportedly open to signing for Liverpool in January but would prefer to join Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona instead.
The future of the Bayern Munich stalwart is up in the air after a public fall-out with the club’s hierarchy, who have withdrawn their offer of a new contract to him.
That has seemingly opened the door to a potential move to Anfield for the 28-year-old, despite Bayern ruling out a January exit.
The experienced centre-back is out of contract next summer, so Bayern may still decide to cash in.
A report on Football Insider claims that Alaba is keen for a new challenge and wants a move to Real or Barca.
However, there is a problem on the horizon for both clubs, given their current financial contraints.
It’s expected that Alaba would cost around £30million and would also demand a huge salary. That would be a problem for the Spanish duo, but not for Liverpool.
The Reds are expected to be in the market for a new defender in January. That will surely happen if Joe Gomez joins Virgil van Dijk on the long-term injured list.
Gomez suffered what Gareth Southgate fears is a serious knee injury on England duty on Wednesday.
Liverpool are still awaiting scan results, but losing Gomez would represent another body blow after Van Dijk’s ACL issue.
Alaba is just one name on Liverpool’s list of targets, with Ozan Kabak and Dayot Upamecano also on their radar.
As for Alaba, the Austrian has spent virtually his entire professional career at Bayern playing as a left-back. However, he transitioned to centre-back just under a year ago and has not looked back since.
‘Key’ Liverpool man named
Alisson Becker says Fabinho is Liverpool’s “most important player” and has shed light on his own long-term plans.
Alisson has been an important player for Liverpool ever since joining them for what was temporarily a world record transfer for a goalkeeper in 2018.
The goalkeeper proved to be one of the missing pieces that would help lead them to the Premier League title. He has also won the Champions League along the way.
In front of him, Virgil Van Dijk also made a telling difference to Liverpool’s fortunes. But they are having to cope without him at present due to an ACL injury.
In that time, Alisson’s compatriot Fabinho has been entrusted with filling in at centre-back. However, the midfielder does not feature as frequently for the Brazilian national team.
Alisson, though, thinks Fabinho is a vital cog for club and country, as he reacted to comments from Jurgen Klopp suggesting Brazil coach Tite does not use the 27-year-old as much as he deserves.
“I didn’t speak to Klopp. Of course, I talked to Fabinho, we saw that he said that,” he told Globo Esporte.
“But it’s his opinion, if there’s anyone who can talk about it specifically, it’s Klopp.”