Manchester City are ready to compete for Bayern Munich fullback David Alaba.

The Manchester Evening News says City are competing with Spanish giants Barcelona for Alaba, according to reports.

City have seen their dominance of the Premier League crumble this season and look certain to surrender their title to Liverpool after an underwhelming campaign by their own high standards.

While the attacking side of their game has remained brilliant - City are still the top scorers in the division - their defence has proved costly this year following the departure of Vincent Kompany, multiple injuries to important defenders and the failure to recruit fresh quality in the summer.

And the chance to land Alaba won't be ignored, particularly given manager Pep Guardiola's good relationship with the Austrian courtesy of his time in charge of Bayern.