Barcelona stalwart Luis Suarez isn’t getting any younger and the need for a long-term replacement will continue to grow.
The 31-year-old has even conceded himself that it doesn’t bother him that the Catalan giants are reportedly actively looking at alternative options, as noted by AS, as ultimately it’s just sensible planning.
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Given the Uruguayan international has bagged 10 goals and provided six assists in 19 appearances so far this season, it arguably shows that signing a replacement isn’t an immediate concern as he remains an effective and influential figure.
Nevertheless, he will ultimately experience a decline as he enters the latter stages of his career, and Barcelona are seemingly eager to plan ahead and ensure that they’re not left short when the time comes to replace him.
According to Mundo Deportivo, they have various options on the table under consideration, with Kasper Dolberg, Timo Werner, Krzysztof Piatek, Luka Jovic, Nicolas Pepe, Maxi Gomez and Andre Silva all said to be potential transfer targets.
That’s a pretty extensive list and so it remains to be seen who, if any, emerge as the priority, as all have impressed to this point and remain in the early part of their respective careers given they’re all in their early 20s.
In turn, it will be intriguing to see who is considered the ideal solution, as aside from being able to establish themselves as a consistent source of goals, they’ll need the technical quality, creativity and humility to also accept that they will have to play second fiddle to Lionel Messi for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, it is a crucial decision that Barcelona will have to make, one that they can’t afford to get wrong as aside from Suarez, coach Ernesto Valverde doesn’t have a great deal of quality depth available right now either.
