Barca are actively involved in the race for Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland. However, the Catalans have also identified a few replacements if they fail to land the Norwegian number 9 this summer amidst an intense bidding war.
The Blaugrana have been dealt a massive blow in their pursuit of Haaland following reports that the striker is close to agreeing a move to Manchester City this summer. The Daily Mail’s Jack Gaughan reported that City have already agreed personal terms with the Norwegian, and a deal is expected to be close at around 100 million pounds.
The 21-year-old was said to be the ideal marquee signing for president Joan Laporta and his board, who have great ties with Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola. However, this new setback is expected to push the club to look at other options and alternatives are being lined up and discussed as a result of this development.
A new report in Catalan media today claimed that Barcelona are attentive to the situation of Robert Lewandowski, who is unlikely to continue at Bayern Munich. They are also keeping tabs on Chelsea’s misfiring duo of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner as the Blues find themselves in heaps of trouble following the sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom government on Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
Mundo Deportivo have also reported the name of Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick as an alternative that Barcelona might consider as Plan B if they fail to land Haaland.
Ever since moving to the BayArena in 2020, the Czech marksman has been in excellent form. Following an excellent debut season, the 26-year-old had a breakthrough Euro 2020 campaign last summer and has carried on with the same form this season too.
In the 2021/22 Bundesliga season, Schick has scored 20 goals in 20 appearances and averages a goal for Bayer every 78 minutes. He also has three assists to his name. Transfermarkt currently values him at around 40 million euros. However, the Leverkusen club is expected to ask for a bigger price considering that Schick has a contract with the club until 2025.
