Rumour Mongering: Alberto Moreno Tops Barcelona Shortlist

The Liverpool left back could be moving to Barcelona in January if you believe the Spanish rumour mongers.

With club football on hold during the international break and the January transfer window just in sight now over the horizon, it’s maybe not the most surprising thing in the world that we’re seeing an uptick in transfer speculation this week.

It’s still a surprising, though, to see Spanish outlets—and Barcelona mouthpiece Mundo Deportivo in particular—reviving talk of Alberto Moreno being one of the Catalan club’s top targets at left back as they search for a backup for Jordi Alba.

It’s where we are today, though, with the suggestion that Barcelona have narrowed it down to Valencia’s José Luis Gayà, PSG’s Juan Bernat, and Liverpool’s own Alberto Moreno—and that Moreno just might be the current first choice target.

That’s largely down to his likely availability on the cheap in January, at least as Mundo Deportivo frame things, with the 26-year-old left back’s contract expiring next summer and minutes hard to come by with the Reds for the ex-Sevilla man.

That means that, of the three options, he’d be the easiest to bring in in January, and he’d certainly cost a fair bit less than Bernat or Gayà, whose deals run through 2021 and 2023 respectively. Even with that in mind, though, it seems odd.

Bernat has begun to push his way into the rotation at PSG, earning regular minutes for the big-spending French side. As for Gayà, at 23 he’s rated as perhaps the best young left back in Spain. And then there’s Moreno, barely playing at Liverpool.

On paper at least, Bernat looks like a high-quality depth option who could push Alba; Gayà looks like a talent who could be brought in to succeed him; and Alberto Moreno looks like he wouldn’t cost very much and could be had in January.

Still, one imagines if Barcelona really are looking to bring in Moreno mid-season, Liverpool would be inclined to listen to an offer.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com