Liverpool Alerted as Agent of Barcelona Defender Hints at January Exit

The agent of Barcelona defender Martin Montoya has once again suggested that his client could leave the club as early as January, just days after revealing that there is genuine interest from Liverpool.

Montoya is currently in the final 12 months of his deal with the Spanish champions but he has yet to be offered improved terms despite a number of teammates already renewing their contracts.

Cristian Tello and Sergio Busquets have recently been awarded new deals but as of yet Montoya has been left waiting. The young right-back has struggled to gain regular first team action and it seems he may consider leaving the club if he is not given assurances that he will gain more frequent opportunities.

His agent Jose Maria Orobitg revealed earlier this week that he would be assessing his options and revealed that there was interest from several European clubs in the summer, including Liverpool.

"The transfer window is closed, but I can tell you that the contract extension may not be successful. In the past, Inter Milan, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund and Liverpool were interested. Anything could happen between now and June," said Orobitig.

Liverpool have significantly strengthened their defensive options over the summer with the additions of Mamadou Sakho, Tiago Ilori and Kolo Toure, but all three play are central defenders.

Glen Johnson is currently first choice but due to injury, manager Brendan Rodgers will have to decide between Andre Wisdom or Martin Kelly, both of whom also prefer to play in the centre of defence.

Should Rodgers decide that he needs to bolster his options in January then it seems Montoya may well be available judging by the latest comments from his agent.

"We don't exactly know what the club's plans are," Orobitig explained to Fichajes.com. "We haven't talked to them. They've first extended the contracts of Tello and Busquets. Now it is Martin's turn.

"We'll see if we can reach an agreement, but it is difficult because he is not playing. When things do not change between now and January, I dare not say what will happen."

The 22 year old has progressed through the Barcelona academy and has made a total of 36 appearances for the first team since breaking into the squad under Pep Guardiola back in early 2011.

Last season he made 15 league appearances but he is considered back-up for Dani Alves and knows it will be extremely difficult to gain opportunities with the Brazilian excelling at the club.