One game could be all it has taken to kill any chance Southampton had of signing Paco Alcacer in the January transfer window.
Rumours of Southampton interest, started by the English media, quickly made their way to Spain last month, with it catching the attention. Alcacer was very much a fringe Barcelona player, and with the club looking to offload wages, a move to Southampton wasn’t dismissed by all the Spanish media, just some of it.
Luis Suarez’s lack of goals so far this season, he’s scored three across all competitions, has allowed Alcacer to push his case. Neymar’s departure, and injury to Ousmane Dembele have also helped, and things took an upward turn at the weekend.
Alcacer scored both Barcelona’s goals against Sevilla, in a 2-1 victory, after starting from a position on the right. The Catalan media are hugely singing his praises, and Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport have included the forward in their European Team of the Week.
To add to that, Alcacer himself couldn’t look any happier if he tried.
Unless something drastic changes, or the 24 year old manages to blow his inevitably upcoming chances, Barcelona letting Alcacer go wouldn’t be a very popular move in the winter window.
If Southampton interest was ever real, it’s taken something of a blow.
