PREMIER LEAGUE giants are on red alert with Barcelona ready to make a move to replace Gavi, according to reports.
Barca lost their star midfielder after he tore his ACL in Spain’s 3-1 victory over Georgia on Sunday.
The 19-year-old will be out for between seven and nine months, with further tests set to confirm the true extent of his lay-off.
Barcelona know that Gavi’s injury could jeopardise their attempt to defend their La Liga title.
And the Spanish giants are looking to bring in reinforcements in January.
And according to the Daily Mail, Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcántara is on their radar.
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Going into November’s international break, Thiago has not played a competitive match all season, last appearing for Liverpool in April.
Liverpool may not oppose the transfer as Thiago is out of contract at the end of the season.
But Xavi’s side may want to act on the side of caution, as Thiago himself has frequently suffered injuries of his own.
Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso has also emerged as an early contender to arrive on loan at the start of the new year.
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He is out of favour under Ange Postecoglou and has La Liga experience having played for Villarreal.
Xavi has shown interest in the World Cup winner before and would be in favour of him arriving to take the strain off of a stretched midfield.
Barcelona are said to be “furious” as they don’t understand why Gavi featured in their final game when Spain had already qualified.
He also played 90-minutes in Spain’s 3-1 victory over Cyprus.
The Catalan giants could be compensated by Fifa as part of their protection programme.
Barcelona will be awarded £17,500 a day for up to a year, based on the player’s salary.
Frenkie de Jong has been injured since the end of September and is back in training but not match fit.
While fellow wonderkid Pedri has only recently returned following a two month hiatus with a hamstring injury.
Ilkay Gundogan has had to play deeper as a consequence and has not been able to show his Manchester City form.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
