Valencia weighed up David Alaba as a centre-back, but waited

Valencia explored the signing of David Alaba to strengthen its centre-back options, but the club decided to hold off and wait until the January window, according to Mundo Deportivo. The 34-year-old Austrian had appeared among the names the new sporting director Braulio Vázquez looked at from the free-agent market.

The move was driven by the injury crisis in the heart of the defence: Javier Aguirre currently has only Justin de Haas, while César Tárrega, Mouctar Diakhaby and José Copete remain sidelined, and Pepelu has been playing as a centre-back. Even so, doubts surrounded Alaba’s physical condition—he’s had knee and calf issues over the past two years and had gone without training normally—plus Valencia’s limited fair-play margin.

With that in mind, Aguirre and Vázquez agreed on the need for defensive experience and hierarchy, but the timing shifted to January. In the meantime, the coach is working to recover other injured players such as Sadiq Umar and Dimitri Foulquier. The closest to returning is Tárrega, who could be in play for Aguirre’s debut at El Sardinero on Sunday, October 11. Alaba has also reportedly signed for Udinese just days ago.