Hupu reported on May 18 that a reporter from the Spanish media "Daily Sports" named L. Miguelsanz reported the relevant situation. Barcelona is currently focusing its recruitment entirely on the center position. After Lewandowski left the team, the No. 9 position was regarded as a key part of the team's sports project next season. Flick has been asking the club to prioritize this operation for several weeks. Its priority is higher than that of central defender signings. Most of Barcelona's investments this summer may be invested in this position.
However, this signing is not something that can be done easily. At this stage, the situations of the candidates that Barcelona is focusing on are different. Some are regarded as not for sale by their clubs, and some prices are far beyond the reasonable range of the market. Barcelona will not be able to afford such price standards for a while. As a result, the Barcelona sports management has noticed the pressure, and the club has also recognized it. In such a complex transfer market background that is strongly affected by the World Cup, the arrival of the favorite striker may really be delayed longer than originally expected.
Flick doesn't usually talk publicly about signings, but this time he made it very clear about the center issue. He said, we need a forward who can connect with the team, and this forward must also be able to score goals. Our thinking is very clear. We must wait for the transfer market to open up. It won't be easy, but we will do our best to make it the best it can be. I firmly believe we will have a good team next season.
Flick understands that it is not easy to reach an agreement that is beneficial to him with the club where the target player is located, but for him, strengthening the strength of the center is non-negotiable. Barcelona has lost a key star like Lewandowski. If the team intends to compete in the Champions League, it must introduce a top striker.
Barcelona's initial move was towards Atletico Madrid striker Alvarez, but it was already clear within the club that it was almost impossible to sign the Argentine forward in this way. Atletico Madrid will only be willing to start negotiations if it receives a transfer fee offer with a historical level in world football, but Barcelona will not do this. Barcelona appreciates Alvarez, but their valuation will not exceed 100 million euros. The club feels that paying a premium would be the wrong way to act. The case of Griezmann has caused them to pay too high a price.
Moreover, Paris Saint-Germain's involvement is not good for Barcelona because it will cause the bidding to continue to rise. If Alvarez himself does not make it clear that he is willing to join Barcelona, it will be difficult for the situation to change. There is no optimism within Barcelona about this deal.
Because of this, Deco accelerated the promotion of Chelsea forward Joao Pedro. Joao Pedro is the second choice on Barcelona's signing list and has been fully recognized by Flick. Although his popularity is not as good as other candidates, Barcelona feels that his performance is very stable, fits the team's play style, and there is still obvious room for improvement.
The key issue with this deal is that Chelsea have no immediate plans to sell him, although they may have to clean up their squad. The London club will try to sell other players first, and this is the opportunity that Barcelona can take advantage of. However, this takes time and requires patience. Barcelona feels that sooner or later there will be room for negotiation, and by then there may be players added to the deal.
There are names such as Lautaro, Osimhen and Malmouche on the table of the Barcelona sports management, in addition to the two mentioned above. Lautaro's situation is indeed quite complicated. Inter Milan treats him as the core of the team and will only consider letting him go when it receives a very high offer. Osimhen is also appreciated by Barcelona. However, he is living a very comfortable life after staying in Turkey and has already stated that he does not want to leave the team this summer. However, Barcelona's offer may change everything.
As for Malmouche, he is extremely eager to join Barcelona. This player is especially appreciated by Flick. Malmouche has performed well in the Bundesliga before and is currently Haaland's substitute at Manchester City. Similar to Alvarez, he hopes to join a top team and obtain the main position.
From a comprehensive perspective, Barcelona still has many uncertain factors in the center market, and at the same time there is a lot of work to be done. There are not many No. 9 players with the differentiated level that Barcelona needs, and the club also understands that this most strategic signing in recent years will inevitably have to pay a high price. At the moment, other operations have been put on hold, but Barcelona needs to remain patient to finally facilitate this key signing. Just like when Lewandowski was introduced, that deal also went through nearly two months of negotiations, and the player himself has always firmly expected to join Barcelona.