Late on Wednesday night, surprise reports emerged claiming that Barcelona had reached an agreement with Inter Milan to loan out veteran defender Jordi Alba for the remainder of the season.
The 33-year-old has been overlooked by Xavi Hernandez in the last couple of matches, with youngster Alejandro Balde getting the nod at left-back. That, coupled with the impending arrival of Marcos Alonso from Chelsea, sparked rumours that Barça would be open to offloading Alba.
This gave way to reports that the Spanish international could be on his way to Italy, with the Blaugrana and the Nerazzurri reaching an agreement over a loan transfer.
However, as per a fresh update from Helena Condis, that does not seem to be the case. The journalist claims that Inter Milan are considering Alba as an option to replace their current left-back, Robin Gosens if he leaves the club.
The German international has been linked with a move to Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen and a potential departure could prompt Simone Inzaghi’s side to make a late push for the signing of Alba.
However, Helena Condis’ report also specifies that, at the moment, Alba has no intentions of leaving Barcelona, despite his reduced stature.
Alba has been the first-choice left-back at Barcelona for nearly a decade now and is widely accepted as one of the best players to have played in the position in the modern era. However, his age and enormous wages mean that the Catalans could do with moving him on.
But, a move to Inter Milan might prove tricky to complete as Gosens might not complete a switch to Leverkusen, with the Bundesliga club director Simon Rolfes denying any interest in the German left-back.
So, unless there is some drastic change during the deadline day, Alba might end up remaining a Barcelona player.
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