Kolkata, April 5: La Liga leaders Barcelona are keen to sign Arsenal’s Nacho Monreal on a free deal in order to add quality and depth behind Jordi Alba in the short term, according to reports.
The Spanish giants secured the long term future of Alba after tying him down to a new five-year contract, but do not have back-up options in his deputy role.
Their current choice is teenager Juan Miranda, who is being touted as the long-term successor to Spain international Alba, but the Catalan side believe that the Spain Under-19 international at the moment needs to get game time away from the Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde is also said to be exploring another option, academy youngster 20-year-old Marc Cucurella permanently.
The left-back has spent this season on loan at Eibar and is not seen as part of their future plans. He is being targeted by the likes of Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and a handful of clubs in La Liga following his impressive spell at the Ipurua Municipal.
This has forced Valverde to lookout for a short-term gap and Monreal has emerged as a front-runner.
Barcelona are interested in signing Arsenal left back Nacho Monreal as a back-up for Jordi Alba. The player's contract is expiring and his experience (33 years of age) is exactly what the club is looking for. [daily mail] pic.twitter.com/GX3E2kWEwJ
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 4, 2019