Report: Juventus interested in signing David Alaba

David Alaba is a very good player, and has been one for a long time. And, it just so happens that he is in the midst of a contract extension standoff with Bayern Munich, with both parties seemingly very strong in their current hold of where things stand as Alaba has one more season left on his contract with the German giants.

... wait.

Did somebody say soon-to-be free agent?

According to Sport Mediaset in Italy, Juventus is very much interested in making the 28-year-old Alaba the latest player to arrive in Turin on a free transfer. The problem is, though, there’s mixed reports about whether Alaba will completely blow off Bayern and leave the club due to the current contract extension standoff or end up staying in Munich after agreeing to a deal with the reigning European champions. Then there’s the fact that if Alaba does end up leaving Bayern Munich in 2021, where his preferred destination would be.

Juventus’ interest in Alaba is considered “high,” according to SPORT1 in Germany.

Tuttosport and Calciomercato — not exactly two Italian media outlets with a lot of reliability behind their names and reputations — reported over the weekend that Alaba’s contract in Turin could be worth €8 million a season. That is notable because Alaba reportedly wants a lot LOT LOT LOT more than that no matter if he stays with Bayern Munich or not.

One of our old buddies and current Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić commented Monday on Alaba’s standing at the club and the contract negotiations. His comments weren’t exactly glowing when it comes to Alaba’s future with Bayern, but they didn’t really give you a hint as to what the star defender’s next move might be.

“David is our player, he’s been with the club for a long time,” said Salihamidžić. “We will not give him an ultimatum. We’re trying to convince him and hope he’ll sign at some point.”

As our friends at Bavarian Football Works said, it looks like Bayern is going to be playing the long game when it comes to Alaba, which will obviously give them plenty of time to negotiate or anger a player who would be a really, really good fit at Juventus if the opportunity does come along in the future. This contract extension standoff has been happening for a while now, and the fact that it’s still an issue with the season now very much in session might not bode well for how things have developed the last few weeks.

But, as we know, Juventus hasn’t shied away from giving big salaries to players who arrive on “free” transfers. You don’t need to look far back into the future when Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot arrived in the summer of 2019 and put pen to paper on deals that pay them €7 million net per season (at minimum).