Alba to sign new 5-year deal after Bartomeu steps in (Sport)

Jordi Alba will sign a new deal with Barcelona, taking him up to 2024 with the club.

Negotiations have accelerated over the past few days and both parties are on the brink of finalising the fresh terms.

According to Sport, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu personally intervened to speed up the process of tying down the 29-year-old defender.

Barring any last minute hitches, Alba will put pen to paper on his five-year deal in the coming days.

The contract talks began last November and the club's proposed terms have been accepted by Alba and his representatives this month.

Barcelona were particularly keen to keep hold of their dependable left back as he embodies the club's values having spent time with the academy between 1998-2005.

He left La Masia to join Cornella and then Valencia but was re-signed by his boyhood club for £12million in 2012.

With the contract negotiation almost over, Alba can turn his attention to matters back on the pitch for the Spanish champions.

Ernesto Valverde's side top La Liga, seven points clear of Atletico Madrid and 12 ahead of Real.

They are also favourites to progress in the Champions League over Lyon having drawn the first leg 0-0 in France.