Jurgen Klopp urges Liverpool to stay in the hunt for Alaba

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reportedly urged the club's hierarchy to stay in the hunt for Bayern Munich defender David Alaba.

The Austrian's current deal with Bayern expires at the end of the season and a renewal appears unlikely after a breakdown in contract talks.

It was recently claimed that Real Madrid had reached an agreement to sign Alaba on a pre-contract and the same would be made official by next month.

However, the player's father has dismissed those claims by citing that the versatile defender has not made any decision over his future.

According to Marca, Klopp has advised the club's board to continue their pursuit of Alaba even if Real Madrid are favourites to sign him.

The club are currently without two of their main centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip due to long-term knee injuries.

This has impacted their performance in the league and they have dropped six points adrift of the top after a five-match winless run.

Still, Klopp has stated that the club are highly unlikely to reinforce the defensive department until the end of the campaign.