David Alaba deemed too small for Liverpool’s central defensive profile as Austrian’s Real Madrid move becomes clearer
Defensive reinforcement
Liverpool are in need of adding defensive reinforcement to their side this January window to avoid further use of second string and youth players which has cost them a significant amount of points this season.
Whilst the individuals may not be bad in quality and Jurgen Klopp has spoken very highly of them, the gap between those and starting centre backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez is stark.
Both Gomez and Van Dijk have serious knee injuries which will see the most likely miss the remainder of the current season and therefore a move for a player in January seems like an opportunistic time for Klopp and his side to bring in cover.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 17: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT )Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool collides with Everton’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford during the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on October 17, 2020 in Liverpool, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Brazilian midfielder Fabinho has been covering in a centre-back role and as arguably their best defensive midfielder has left another area of the pitch slightly weakened.
A number of names were linked with the Reds including Schalke’s Ozan Kabak, RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano, Lille’s Sven Botman and Brighton’s Ben White. However, according to The Athletic, Liverpool are more likely to pursue a deal for a marquee signing of the aforementioned ilk in the summer.
Alaba too small
Another of the names on the list of players which Liverpool were linked with was Bayern Munich’s versatile Defender David Alaba. The Austrian international is in a predicament in Bavaria with his current deal at the club running out at the end of the season and with a consistent failure to re-sign with the German and European champions.
Reportedly, a deal was offered to Alaba but has since been removed from the table by club President Herbert Hainer.
“We submitted to David and his advisor some time ago what we think was a very good offer,” Hainer said. “During the last meeting we had said we wanted clarity by the end of October. We did not hear anything until yesterday and we contacted his advisor.”
“The answer was that the offer was still unsatisfactory and we should think about it again. We then decided to take the offer completely off the table.”
This has meant that, with just 6 months left on his deal, Alaba can negotiate with other clubs regarding a pre-contract agreement which would see him sign for a team in the summer.
Although, Liverpool have now been confirmed to not be a possible destination for the Austrian after he was considered to be too small for the type of player the Reds are after.
Liverpool did hold talks over David Alaba last summer, partly as he could also play left-back and to price a move for Thiago as they were in a similar situation. I’m told he’s smaller than their centre-back profile and they’re looking at younger optionshttps://t.co/yB22IhqSAW
— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) January 13, 2021
With Liverpool out of the picture this has seemingly paved the way for a move to Real Madrid who have supposedly been the closest to signing him.
Alaba again confirmed to be target for Chelsea as Liverpool look set to miss out on defensive reinforcement
‘Plan to start talks in January’ – David Alaba to Chelsea links ramp up
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 32 | 44 | 74 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 30 | 25 | 60 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 31 | 18 | 56 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 31 | 12 | 55 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 31 | 19 | 54 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 30 | 19 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 29 | 3 | 47 |
| 9 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 10 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 30 | 5 | 42 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 31 | -19 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 30 | -14 | 36 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 31 | -17 | 33 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 30 | -5 | 32 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 31 | -19 | 32 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | -34 | 21 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 30 | -35 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 9 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
| McGoldrick, David | Sheffield United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
