Manchester United have reportedly made Barcelona defender Jordi Alba as one of the key transfer targets for the summer. The Spanish international is reportedly unsettled at the Camp Nou after failing to feature in the last few key matches for the team. Even though manager Luis Enrique will be leaving the club in the summer, Alba is reportedly concerned about his status in the team. After being one of the regular first-team players at Barcelona in the last few years, Alba is finding himself in unchartered territory. He has started only 14 games this season.
One of the strongest aspects of the 28-year-old is the contribution to attack. United are certainly in the search for a new left back, as Luke Shaw has fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho. Even though the Portuguese was one of the managers who tried to sign him before his move to Manchester United, it appears that working in close quarters with the 21-year-old has made him search for a new defender. Only a few months ago, Mourinho challenged Shaw to up the ante, but it has simply failed to materialise. The defender has played just 70 minutes of league football in 2017.
Alba will not necessarily come for cheap, as the defender is tied to Barcelona until the summer of 2020. His current contract is worth around £90,000 per week, and the player is not currently looking at an extension with his importance in the first team under a major cloud of doubt. Purely in terms of wages, United will not be witnessing a huge increase in their outlay, as Luke Shaw’s current contract is worth around £70,000 a week. However, United will have to fork out a figure in the region of £25 million in order to convince Barcelona to sell Jordi Alba, a player who is considered as a first-team regular for the Spanish national team.
Shaw has fallen from great heights of being considered as one of the replacements for Ashley Cole to being subjected to interest from Crystal Palace and Stoke City in the summer transfer window. Both clubs are expected to come in for the defender in the summer.
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