Barcelona have reportedly ended their pursuit of Maxi Gomez and will focus on two cheaper options with Antoine Griezmann in mind too.
The Catalan giants are one win away from securing back-to-back domestic doubles, and so it wouldn’t appear as though they need to make too many changes to their squad.
Nevertheless, one glaring issue in the current group is the lack of quality depth and competition for veteran Luis Suarez up front, and so additional firepower is surely needed moving forward in order to continue to set the pace domestically and succeed in Europe.
According to the Daily Mail, a reinforcement will not arrive in the form of Celta Vigo forward Gomez, with Barcelona said to have launched a €25m bid to sign him earlier this week.
Instead, it’s suggested that Cristhian Stuani or Fernando Llorente could be options to provide a different dynamic off the bench if Plan A with Suarez isn’t working, while that in turn would also allow them to reserve the significant funds needed to sign Griezmann this summer.
It’s added that the Frenchman will cost €120m, as per his release clause, and so this would perhaps be a more sensible strategy from Barcelona to give them different options in the final third and to complement what they already have at coach Ernesto Valverde’s disposal.
Time will tell if they are able to bring in their preferred attacking reinforcements this summer, but despite their domestic success, they will surely be making signings that will ultimately have a major impact in Europe and the Champions League specifically after they suffered more disappointment this year.
Griezmann has the quality to make the difference, but having a veteran option on the bench to give Suarez a chance to rest would also surely be a wise move.
