Barcelona may move to sign Girona striker Cristhian Stuani following a long-term injury to Luis Suarez, report El Mundo Deportivo.
The Uruguayan striker netted 19 goals in La Liga last season – only four players score more – following on from his 21 strikes in his debut season in Spain’s top-flight.
Stuani has been in equally scintillating goalscoring form this campaign – scoring 16 goals in just 18 league appearances for the Catalan club to date in the Segunda.
This summer, Stuani penned a new contract which takes him through until the summer of 2023 with Girona, which reportedly contains a €25m release clause.
That may prove problematic for a move to the Camp Nou as the striker is aged 33 and was said to be available for between €6-7m last January, meaning this would be a significant financial outlay for an ageing player.
However, it has also been suggested that Stuani’s release clause is dependant upon Girona’s position in the league table – they are currently 11th in the second tier.
Suarez is expected to miss up to four months of action and may play no further meaningful part of the campaign.