Barcelona’s number one target this summer is Erling Haaland, but the Catalan giants are aware, according to Mundo Deportivo, that signing the Norwegian marksman will be no easy feat.
Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are all in the race, as well as, to a lesser extent, Manchester City. Borussia Dortmund, also, are not in a mind to sell. Therefore, Barcelona need to look at alternative options in the market.
First, however, they’re going to have to find means of creating the financial space to achieve that. Barcelona need to lower their wage bill and sell players, no easy task in a climate such as this. They’ll also need to be intelligent and creative in the market.
Romelu Lukaku is one target, with Ronald Koeman a big fan of his having worked with him at Everton. Inter are also in the midst of a bad moment economically, and could be prised away for €120m according to reports. Another forward at the San Siro of interest to Barcelona is Lautaro Martinez, who’s yet to renew his deal with the Italian club despite drawn-out negotiations.
Harry Kane has been spoken about as a potential target given he apparently wants to leave Tottenham Hotspur and the English club won’t countenance granting him a move to a domestic rival. From within La Liga, Real Sociedad forward Alexander Isak is highly rated by the powers-at-be at Camp Nou.
Paulo Dybala is another option, although he’s not as direct a centre-forward as the other names in the hat, and he’s joined by the much-discussed names of Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay, both of whom will see their contracts come to an end on 30 June. Benfica’s Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez is also of interest.
