With a lack of depth in attack, the Catalans have been linked with a myriad of strikers. Here are some they could set their eyes on
Barcelona are set to dip into the transfer market this January in order to reinforce their offensive line.
Munir El Haddadi was shipped out to Sevilla last week for a fee of €1 million, and though he featured for only 403 minutes across three competitions, the Catalans are lacking depth in their attack and need a reinforcement.
With that in mind, here are 10 players they would be advised to look at over the coming fortnight.
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#1 Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea)
The 25-year-old Belgium international struggled to make his mark at Valencia on loan from Chelsea. A return of one goal from 15 league games is not what Los Che expected of the Belgium international and they have cut his loan short.
Barcelona, however, have been impressed with the forward’s scoring ratio with both the Blues and Borussia Dortmund.
Monaco, though, seem to have beaten them to the punch over the player.
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#2 Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)
Maurizio Sarri wants to strengthen Chelsea’s attack by adding Gonzalo Higuain to his ranks, which would further reduce the game time that Olivier Giroud enjoys.
At 32, he certainly does not represent a long-term solution to Barcelona’s problems, but he offers experience and would likely jump at the chance of finishing his career at such an illustrious club, even if it meant continuing to be largely a peripheral player.
He might not be the most prolific centre forward, but his link-up play is one of his major strengths and something that Lionel Messi would surely thrive upon.
#3 Maxi Gomez (Celta)
Touted as a possible successor to Luis Suarez at international level, Barcelona are known to be following the 21-year-old closely and could be ready to give him the chance to learn from his compatriot at close quarters on a daily basis.
With nine goals and five assists in 17 league matches, the strong and determined forward is, however, essential to Celta’s relegation battle and appears unattainable at this juncture in the season.
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#4 Javier Hernandez (West Ham)
Chicharito has not proven to be the smash hit that was hoped when he moved back to the Premier League in the summer of 2017 from Bayer Leverkusen. The West Ham forward has bagged only four goals this season and has not shown form to make him indispensable to Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Indeed, he is presently laid up with a back injury that is expected to keep him on the sidelines until the end of the month.
Even if he has flopped as a starter, his ability to inject energy off the bench could be attractive to Barcelona.
The Mexico international scored nine goals and added nine assists in a previous loan spell at Real Madrid.
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#5 Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai)
Barcelona raised eyebrows when they signed Paulinho from the Chinese Super League last summer, but the swoop for the Brazilian proved to be a success. Rumours suggest they could be ready to do the same with ex-Granada and Watford hitman Ighalo.
The 29-year-old Nigeria international has had no problems finding the net in the CSL, scoring 36 times in 55 appearances, and while he has been less prolific in Europe’s big leagues, he has both the experience and quality to be an effective back-up option.
Catherine Ivill
#6 Fernando Llorente (Tottenham)
The news of Harry Kane’s ankle injury has likely stymied any hopes that Barcelona had of signing the 33-year-old Spain international, who had been touted as a potential addition at Camp Nou.
Llorente has featured only on the periphery until now at Spurs this season, grabbing four goals, but his height and physicality could have made him an attractive option to bring another dimension to the Liga champions.
Mauricio Pochettino, though, will surely not allow the veteran striker to leave in view of recent developments.
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#7 Alvaro Morata (Chelsea)
While Chelsea will not allow both Giroud and Morata to leave this winter, it seems inevitable that one will depart, and like his club-mate Morata represents an option for Barcelona.
Morata has shown in the past with Juventus that he can cut it at the very biggest clubs and would arrive with something to prove, having struggled at Chelsea and rarely been given a chance to impress with Real Madrid, where he came through the academy.
Atletico Madrid are vying for his signature, too.
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#8 Nicolas Pepe (Lille)
Pepe has exploded into form over the course of the campaign and has struck 12 times in 19 Ligue 1 matches as Christophe Galtier’s side have galloped up the standings.
The 23-year-old is not a natural centre forward, however, and has typically struggled in that position when deployed there, preferring a role on the wing.
Furthermore, he has indicated that he wants to stay with Lille until the summer at least, while the club have tried to put off his numerous suitors by slapping an €80 million (£71m/$91m) price tag on his head.
#9 Antonio Sanabria (Betis)
The 22-year-old forward has previously spent time with Barcelona, albeit with the ‘B’ team, but in recent weeks he has shown that he may just have the potential to cut it at the top level.
He has featured most prominently for Betis off the bench this season, often given 30 minutes, and so a switch to Camp Nou would probably not see his game time dramatically reduced.
However, goals against Eibar and Huesca have seen his stock rise in Seville over the past month.
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#10 Cristhian Stuani (Girona)
Barcelona do not have to look too far to find the man who Goal undertands is Ernesto Valverde’s top option to act as back-up to Luis Suarez. Just 100km to the north east in Girona, Cristhian Stuani has been scoring for fun in La Liga over the past two seasons.
The 32-year-old Uruguayan notched 21 goals in 33 outings last season and is well on his way to replicating those numbers this time around, having scored 12 times already in the Primera Division.
With a release clause of €15 million (£13m/$17m), he is considered good value.