Bayern Munich of Germany’s Nigerian-born defender, David Olatokunbo Alaba has received a formal transfer bid from Manchester United of England, megasportsarena.com gathered.
The Red Devils become the third English Premier League club to express interest in signing the Nigerian-born Austria international, but they have made the boldest and most direct move of all, with a formal bid now put before the player’s management team.
United are now ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the hunt for Alaba’s signature in the January transfer window, as top brass at Old Trafford become the first club to make a frontal bid for the wantaway left-back.
A report by fourfourtwo.com added: “Manchester United have made initial contact with David Alaba over a possible January move for the Bayern Munich defender. The Austrian international is out of contract at the end of the season and can start talking to potential suitors from next month after negotiations with Die Roten broke down and are unlikely to resume.
“A two-time Champions League winner who was a central cog to Bayern’s 2019/20 Treble, Alaba can play anywhere across the backline and has excelled in the past 12 months at centre-back. Alaba’s wage demands – he wants parity with Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski’s £11million a season deal – are said to have drive a wedge between club and player.
“According to the Mirror, Manchester United have already made ‘formal contact’ with the versatile 28-year-old’s representative Pini Zahavi in a bid to steal a march on their transfer rivals in what will be a competitive market.
“Though the Red Devils’ recent transfer policy has been to sign younger players whose value will rise, the possibility of signing a world-class defender on a free transfer, albeit on lucrative wages, is too tempting to turn down.
“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have won six of their last seven Premier League fixtures, but are defensively shaky and have conceded more goals than any other team in the top 10. The disastrous Champions League defeat to RB Leipzig has convinced the Norwegian boss to act.
“United will, however, have their work cut out to sign Alaba. Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid are believed to be frontrunners in the race for the Austrian’s coveted signature, according to Spanish daily AS. Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is resigned to losing Alaba, who joined Die Roten as a 16-year-old in 2008.”
However, The Bavarians’ chief executive, Oliver Kahn insists officials at the Munich-based German Bundesliga outfit and current UFA Champions League holders did all they could to convince David Alaba to sign a new contract.
Kahn told BILD: “The attitude of the club is clear. We rolled out the red carpet for David Alaba and went to our limits. David and especially his advisor Pini Zahavi did not walk this red carpet. So we rolled it up again at some point.
“At the moment I don’t see how that should happen. David has been with FC Bayern for twelve years, ten of them as a professional. It looks like he’s reorienting himself. We have to accept that.”
Kahn also said: “We tried everything to convince David to extend the contract with Bayern. Of course it hurts to lose him, and not just economically. But we had set ourselves limits, and those weren’t corona limits.
“If consultants do not want to admit that we are in a time that is very difficult for all of football and can become very existential, then such a situation arises.”
