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West Ham United are interested in a surprise move for Barcelona defender Jordi Alba in the January transfer window, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.
Alba is considered expendable at Spotify Camp Nou by president Joan Laporta. Despite the Spaniard's desire to stay at the club, Barca are eager to offload him at the earliest and cross out his name from their wage bill.
A move to Serie A could also be in the works, with Inter Milan interested in his signature this summer. Napoli, meanwhile, are another team linked with a January move for the former Valencia left-back.
Alba, 33, has been well and truly displaced from the starting XI by Alejandro Balde and summer arrival Marcos Alonso. He has assisted twice in 12 games across competitions.
His game time could have been much less had Alonso not been made to deputize at centre-back in recent games due to Barcelona's injury problems. The former Chelsea left-back is expected to compete with Balde down the left flank once Ronald Araujo returns from his injury.
With Barca eager to sell Alba and the player aware that playing time could be an issue at the club, West Ham could swoop in with a bid in January. It remains to be seen if any potential deal will be permanent or on a temporary basis.
He still has over 19 months left on his contract with the La Liga giants.
The Hammers currently have Aaron Creswell and summer signing Emerson Palmieri available for that position. Alba, however, could be considered an upgrade on both of those names for manager David Moyes.
Barcelona striker addresses potential pairing with Lionel Messi at Barcelona
Former Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski won every trophy there was to win in Germany.
However, even one of this generation's greatest-ever strikers is awestruck by the brilliance of Lionel Messi. The Argentina icon could leave Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent next summer.
A return to Barca has expectedly been touted, but Messi will apparently make a decision on his future after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Lewandowski, however, already seems to be looking forward to playing with him.
Speaking to the the Blaugrana's official website, Barcelona's No. 9 said:
"If you think about Leo Messi, it's brilliant to get this kind of pass, to get this connection between him and the striker, because he has great vision, he knows how to play the ball into the box behind the line, and he is one of the best, if not the best, at playing that way."
He added:
"I don't know what might happen, but playing as a striker with Leo Messi in the team is a dream for sure."
Messi contributed an exceptions 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 matches for Barcelona, helping them win numerous trophies.
