Barcelona boss comments on reported Tottenham Hotspur target Carles Alena’s situation

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Tottenham Hotspur have recently been linked with a move for Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena.

Mundo Deportivo reported last week that Mauricio Pochettino is intending on making a move for the player in January as a potential replacement for Christian Eriksen. 

Tottenham were reportedly keen on the player in the summer and Alena has since struggled to make it into the first-team at Barcelona.

Sport has since reported that Alena will be allowed to leave on a loan deal in January, with several La Liga clubs keen on the player. 

Now his manager Ernesto Valverde has been discussing his search for first-team football. Speaking before Barcelona’s 5-1 win over Real Valladolid he is quoted by Sport as admitting Alena ‘deserves’ to play more, but simply cannot get beyond the current Barcelona midfield starters.  

“He gives everything in training.

“His attitude is really good, but there’s a lot of competition in the midfield positions. He started the season playing, but since then he’s not (played). He will keep working hard to get in the team.”

TBR’s View

These comments, coupled with the loan reports, should be seen as bad news for Tottenham. 

Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy are always reluctant to use the loan market. That was evident in reported deals not happening for both Dani Ceballos and Youri Tielemans in recent windows. Giovanni Lo Celso is an exception, considering the permanent option in that deal. 

Alena is clearly still in Barcelona’s long-term planning and it would seem a loan move to a La Liga rival would currently make more sense than selling him to a European competitor in the form of Tottenham.