David Alaba could leave Bayern Munich next summer - Paper Round

Bayern Munich’s Austrian left-back David Alaba has been warned by manager Hansi Flick about his potential exit, according to the Mirror. The 28-year-old has a year left on his current deal with the Bundesliga and European champions, and has been linked with a move to Liverpool. However Flick said: “The conditions are top for every player right now and I think he'll think twice about changing that.”

Paper Round’s view: It is not yet clear if the coronavirus has made free transfer players more or less attractive. On the one hand the financial impact of the pandemic will reduce money available for salaries, but equally clubs may be more willing to spread the cost on a bigger wage deal compared to having to stump up cash immediately in order to purchase players.

There has been another departure from Arsenal which could affect future transfer negotiations. The Telegraph reports that Huss Fahmy, the director of football operations, is going to leave the club. Fahmy was pictured in the middle of the night when the club were rumoured to be negotiating with Mikel Arteta before he left Manchester City to become manager at the Emirates.

Paper Round’s view: Arsenal continue to trim their headcount, but it is not clear if this exit is done to save cash, or because of problems within the executive team. Arteta is doing well as Arsenal manager and to lose one of the men at the heart of his recruitment may undermine his position.

Eric Garcia was unable to leave Manchester City in the summer when the club rejected a 10 million euro deal, which also came with eight million more in potential add-ons, from Barcelona. However he is yet to sign a new deal, and while Pep Guardiola would like him to extend his stay, the club may be prepared to reduce their asking price in January to avoid losing him for nothing, reports the Sun

Paper Round’s view: Garcia is a player full of potential but with Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias all competing for places with him then his opportunities will be limited. On the other hand, Barcelona are an ageing squad in need of competition, so a return to his former club would see him gain more first team experience.

Pep Guardiola has reaffirmed his commitment to Manchester City after being linked with a return to his first playing and managerial club, Barcelona. One candidate to take over as club president, Victor Font, wants to bring him back but the Mail quotes him as saying: 'I am incredibly happy here. I'm delighted to be in Manchester and I hope I can do a good job this season to stay longer.'

Paper Round’s view: Guardiola will be on a huge wage that we know about while at City, and Roberto Mancini also enjoyed some extra employment while working as City’s boss, so at the very least we can be sure that cash-strapped Barcelona will not be able to match the money he can earn at the Etihad. The Spanish club would have to hope he has an emotional drive to come back to the team.