Alaba Gains Man City‘s Attention, After Scoring In German Cup Final Victory

Bayern Munich of Germany defender, David Olatokunbo Alaba is still basking in the euphoria of his goal in last weekend’s German Cup victory for his side, at a point Manchester City of England are said to have entered the race to sign him this summer, megasportsarena.com reports.

Alaba’s sizzling goal in Bayern’s 3-0 spanking of Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal final could further boost his chances of leaving The Bavarians, even as Man City are now said to be keen on outdoing their English Premier League rivals, Chelsea in the race for his signature, which is also being courted by Real Madrid and Barcelona of Spain as well as PSG of France.

While Chelsea have dragged feet for a so long on forwarding a formal bid for Alaba, Man City appear ready to show them how it is done, even as they belatedly join the hunt for the Nigerian-born Austria international, who is reportedly eager to leave Munich in the upcoming market.

Transfer talk round Alaba is bound to get stiffer in the coming days, after his free-kick put his team, who won an eighth straight German Bundesliga title the previous weekend, ahead in Saturday’s final, following which Serge Gnabry made it two and Robert Lewandowski’s long-range shot was fumbled in by Lukas Hradecky.

Sven Bender’s header gave Leverkusen hope, but Lewandowski’s delicate dink put the result beyond doubt, even as Kai Havertz scored a penalty with the last kick for Munich’s opponents, but it was not enough to stop Alaba’s team, who have now set a new club record of 26 games unbeaten, only drawing once in that run since December.

Their run of 17 straight wins is also a Bayern record and they were deserved winners this past Saturday at the empty Olympic Stadium in Berlin; though Leverkusen had them on the ropes for about 20 minutes after making it 3-1, but Bayern saw it out to carry the Cup with a 4-2 victory.

Lewandowski’s two goals, which took the Poland international’s tally to 51 hits in 44 games this season for Bayern, were both brilliant efforts for the champions, but a major talking point was about Alaba – especially with transfer talk continuously swirling round him.

However, the onus is now fully on Man City to mace a decisive move, especially as their gaffer, Pep Guardiola has affirmed that he wants to strengthen his defence line in the full-back areas, and has identified Alaba as one of his top targets.

A report out of Germany disclosed that Munich are prepared to allow Alaba to make a decision over where he wishes to play next season, with Man City are expected to be at the front of the queue, though Chelsea still hold an interest in him.

The Blues’ manger, Frank Lampard is keen to raise the bar for his defence, having had problems at left-back throughout his debut year at Stamford Bridge, while also chopping and changing his centre-backs throughout too.

However, with Guardiola having worked previously with Alaba during his days at Bayern, the baton appears to be swinging closer to a move to Ethiad Stadium for the dark-skinned Nigerian-born left-footer.

British newspaper, The Guardian adds: “Alaba fits the criteria City want, and with his ability to play at centre back, the Austrian would also provide Guardiola with additional cover there.

“Alaba has so far resisted Bayern attempts to open new contract talks and City have been in communication with Bayern already this summer, with Leroy Sane heading to the Bundesliga side.”

Conversely, though, Bayern’s coach, Hansi Flick insists he is not ready to lose any of his players this summer, and categorically stated that both Alaba and Thiago Alcantara will not leave, with a verdict that he wants to ensure continuity in his double-winning squad beyond this summer.

Flick said: “I will do everything I can to ensure that we can keep two such high-quality players. David is a very important player for us. A centre-piece. On the pitch he is a world class player, besides the pitch always positive, motivates the teammates. I am confident that he will stay with us. He has matured into an exceptional player here.”