Barcelona joined by Liverpool in pursuit of 21-year-old Spanish defender | OneFootball

Earlier this month, reports in Spain claimed that Barcelona were open to the idea of reinforcing the left-back position in the summer despite having Alejandro Balde and Gerard Martin in their ranks.

Building on that, earlier this week, it was claimed that the current La Liga leaders were monitoring the development of SL Benfica left-back Alvaro Carreras, along with Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Liverpool join the race

Now, according to AS, Premier League heavyweights Liverpool have also entered the race for the signing of Alvaro Carreras.

The 21-year-old, a former Real Madrid academy trainee, joined Benfica from Manchester United on loan in January this year, before the move was made permanent in the summer for €6 million.

Alvaro Carreras is a man in demand. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

Alvaro has become a permanent fixture in the starting XI for the Portuguese giants and has featured in nine matches across all competitions.

His recent performance in the UEFA Champions League against Atletico Madrid has seemingly caught the attention of Liverpool who now see the Spain Under-21 international as a good long-term replacement option for Andy Robertson.

Alvaro has a contract with Benfica that runs until the summer of 2029 and contains a release clause, the value of which is not known.

While Barcelona may have scouted the 21-year-old starlet, at this point there is nothing to suggest that they hold a concrete interest in the former Real Madrid academy man.

Considering that Liverpool are now in the picture and Manchester United also have a buyback clause for Alvaro, a move to Barcelona for the Spaniard seems unlikely at this point.

As mentioned earlier, the Catalans already have Balde and Martin as options and will also be able to count on Alex Valle once he returns from his loan stint with Celtic.