After waving Robert Lewandowski off into the sunset at the end of last season, Barcelona are in need of a new striker. The only one on their books scored the winner in the World Cup final. Julián Alvarez is at the centre of a Spanish tug of war this summer – he wants to leave Atlético Madrid and is wanted by Barcelona and Real Madrid, who had a £129m bid roundly rejected in June. With Atlético suits so far refusing to sit down with Joan Laporta for talks in a fashionable Catalan restaurant, the Barça president is beginning to look elsewhere.
Naturally, Laporta’s attention has turned to Bournemouth. Eli Junior Kroupi had an outstanding first season in English football and is said to be the basis of Barcelona’s Plan B up front. Bournemouth insist the 20-year-old is not for sale and, according to reports, value the striker at £110m anyway – about the going rate for a good young player in the Premier League. Other European heavyweights such as Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and, er, Tottenham are circling. Chelsea’s João Pedro is said to be an unrealistic Plan C for Barça. Maybe Plan D was Danny Welbeck.
Sticking with Spurs, Savinho has been keeping a keen eye on their big spending in this window and apparently wants to ditch the silverware at Manchester City for the golden cockerel of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Meanwhile, Jack Grealish has been left out of City’s party for their pre-season tour of Asia, with the 30-year-old’s future well up in the air. “At the moment, he is here,” said the very non-committal new City manager, Enzo Maresca, last week.
In other transfer tussle news, Crystal Palace are reportedly weighing up a bid for the Lens midfielder Mamadou Sangaré – but they will have to be quick. Brentford are said to be in advanced talks over a £41m move for the 24-year-old Mali international, who could fill a Jordan Henderson-sized hold in their squad. Palace haven’t spent a penny this summer, with free agent Óscar Mingueza their only incoming so far. Former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is training with the Conference League winners with a view to another free transfer.
Fulham are still interested in making Gonzalo García their marquee summer signing but Álvaro Arbeloa’s desire to be reunited with the Real Madrid striker could be scuppered by the asking price, said to be upwards of £50m. Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono and Fran García are also said to be on their shortlist. It might be worth widening your search terms, Álvaro.
And as Barcelona continue to scramble around for a striker, their next pre-season opponents have added to their forward ranks. Luis Vásquez is through the door at Birmingham, who host Barça at St Andrew’s on Friday. Oh, the glamour.
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