It’s no secret, however, that Barca have been considering their options and looking at alternatives should Lewandowski move on. Harry Kane has been their primary target, but with the England captain seemingly set to sign a contract extension with Bayern Munich, Barca would subsequently be priced out of any deal.
Juve’s own prospective free agent, Dusan Vlahovic, would be a far more palatable option from an economic point of view, but the Serbian has undoubtedly failed to live up to his potential in Turin, and thus it’s difficult to see how he would be an upgrade on an admittedly ageing Lewandowski.
Chelsea’s Joao Pedro and Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani have been mooted as others Barca have shown an interest in, but neither can hold a candle to Lewandowski. Rather, the only real option is the man who will likely line up as Atletico’s starting striker in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at Camp Nou: Julian Alvarez.
While Alvarez is said to be open to a move away from the Metropolitano this summer, whether Barca would have the funds to make such a move for a player whose contract still has four years left to run on it feels unlikely unless they were to sell one or two of their own crown jewels along with some fringe players. Still, we’ve ruled Barca out of the running for players on financial grounds before, only for Joan Laporta to pull yet another lever to release funds.
Of course, getting Lewandowski off the books would also help somewhat, and that should be Barca’s first priority. These past four seasons have provided a delightful coda to one of the best careers from a European striker of the 21st century, but the time has come to move on, regardless of the difficulty that will come with finding a replacement.
