Barcelona Transfer News: Dani Alves Exit Rumours Continue, Martin Montoya Latest

Barcelona right-back Dani Alves looks increasingly likely to be leaving the Camp Nou come the end of the season with his contract set to expire in the summer.

Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing the Brazil international and recent comments by Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu on Catalunya Radio (h/t The Telegraph) have sparked further rumours that Alves may be on his way:

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What concerns us now is that he plays and contributes to the team. What is to come, will come. We never explain what we do on the issue of contracts. If it is done, it will be done discretely, like always.

"

If he does not sign a new contract with Barca, Alves will be free to leave, and previous reports have suggested a preliminary deal is already in place between the player and the Old Trafford club, per Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star. 

With Barcelona's current transfer ban set to be in place until January 2016, they would be potentially be better off trying to keep the 31-year-old a little longer to provide proper depth in the defence.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

However, it may be that he wants to leave the club and it is easy to see why he is an attractive prospect to a United side short on right-sided defensive players.

Antonio Valencia has often had to fulfil an unfamiliar right-back role in recent times and Alves could also fit well into Louis van Gaal's preferred 3-5-2 system which has proved problematic so far this season with the current personnel at United, per sports writer Serge Adam:

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Worry LvG's ego will stop us succeeding with a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. #mufc need to play with pace & attack from the off. 3-5-2, too defensive.

— Serge Adam (@SergeMUFC) January 17, 2015"

Alves has started 13 times this season in La Liga and provided two assists, per WhoScored.com, and he is still a huge asset to Barca but one they look like losing.

Another right-back whose Blaugrana career looks to be coming to a close is Martin Montoya, with the player's agent recently admitting the Spaniard wants to leave the club, per Cope (h/t Metro's Lewis Rudd):

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Since we wrote to the club, Martin has played four times. This made us happy. We would rather he is on the pitch than on the bench or in the stands. But our idea is still the same and the player wants to leave.

"

The 23-year-old Montoya has previously been reported as frustrated at his lack of game time—he has only three league starts this season per WhoScored—and Liverpool are reportedly eager to lure him away from the Catalan giants.

Rudd's report suggests Montoya wants a January exit but that seems unlikely given the price tag that has reportedly been placed on him, per Mundo Deportivo (h/t barcastuff):

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Unless a club pays his 20M buyout fee, right back Martin Mpontoya (23) will at least stay at Barcelona until the end of the season. [md]

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) January 17, 2015"

Montoya is a fine prospect but needs proper game time to truly prove his worth, per Sport's Samuel Marsden, a luxury he is unlikely to be granted under Luis Enrique.

A move to Liverpool could potentially be a positive switch, and he would likely get more opportunities at Anfield as the Reds' defensive unit is still in need of improvement.

However, as with Alves and any other potential Barca moves, their transfer ban could encourage the La Liga side to attempt to keep Montoya, as they could do without an exodus of players.

It does seem Montoya is set on departing, though, in search of first-team football but a summer switch is the likely outcome, rather than a January move.