Christian Falk, who is the head of football at German publication Sport Bild, joined transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on the latest edition of Jan Aage Fjortoft’s PodSaveTheBall podcast, during which the panel spent some time talking about Liverpool target David Alaba.
The Reds have been experiencing something of an injury crisis in the centre-back position of late, with Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip all currently sidelined.
Despite his side’s injury woes in the centre-back position, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been urging fans of the Merseyside club not to expect them to do January transfer business. However, earlier this month, Romano did claim on his Here We Go podcast that the Reds tabled a bid for Alaba – though they were not thought to be leading the race for his signature.
During this podcast, Romano explained that Liverpool are “for sure” interested in signing Alaba, whose Bayern Munich contract is set to expire in the summer, although he has got a “verbal agreement” with La Liga giants Real Madrid to join on the expiration of his contract.
Falk then shed some light on what Bayern Munich’s dressing room knows about Alaba’s intentions and he shared that while the £58.5m-rated man will not be at the Bavarian club next season, his teammates know that he sees his future in Spain, with the journalist, who goes by the name ‘Mr. True’, going on to state that this is why English clubs who are interested in him, like Liverpool, will not sign him, despite offering plenty of money.
Falk said: “One thing, for sure, David Alaba won’t be a Bayern Munich player after the summer and Fabrizio is [correct] like always, there is an agreement with Real Madrid, but one thing you mentioned is important – you asked me about the dressing room – everybody knows in the dressing room that he wants to go to Spain and that’s why the English clubs, which offer a lot of money, won’t [be able to persuade him].”
Will Liverpool ever sign Alaba?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts on what Falk said about Alaba potentially joining Liverpool…
Based on this behind-the-scenes information on Alaba’s future, it certainly seems as though it’s unlikely that we’ll see him swap the Allianz Arena for Anfield either this month or in the summer, with it looking like he’s got his heart set on plying his trade at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu from the 2021/22 campaign.
You could argue that this is a significant blow for Liverpool, given that Klopp has indicated the Merseyside club would only consider signing a player if they felt he was a good fit for the long-term and of a certain level of quality. Based on what Romano and Falk have revealed, it seems like Liverpool view Alaba as someone who fits the bill.
So, if Alaba is off the table, then it will be interesting to see who Liverpool turn to instead if they are set on strengthening their options at centre-back either this month or in the summer.