Barcelona have reportedly put together a five-man transfer shortlist as they look to bolster their attacking options for coach Ernesto Valverde.
As has been the case for some time, the Catalan giants have relied heavily on Luis Suarez to lead the line for them across all competitions.
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The Uruguayan stalwart has done a commendable job in scoring 179 goals in 251 games for the reigning La Liga champions, but at 32 years of age, question marks must surely now be raised over how long he can continue to play such a crucial role with a lack of rotation.
With that in mind, Don Balon have suggested that Barcelona have drawn up a five-man shortlist of forwards who could offer not only quality depth but also real competition for places up front with Christian Stuani, Mario Mandzukic, Jaime Mata, Krzysztof Piatek and Timo Werner specifically named.
Either Stuani or Mandzukic would be a sensible addition in the sense that they could offer a different dynamic in the final third too with their physicality and aerial threat, while Mata has experience in Spain and has a decent goalscoring record.
As previously reported by AS and Calciomercato, this isn’t the first time that Stuani and Mandzukic respectively have been linked with a move to the Nou Camp.
However, much will depend on whether or not Barcelona are looking for a more short-term fix with a view of just having back up for Suarez, or if they want to splash out and bring real long-term quality in with Piatek said to be valued at around €50m while Werner could set them back around €70m, according to Don Balon.
In turn, that’s a big decision for them to make and time will tell which path they go down. What is certain at this stage though is that Barcelona would certainly give themselves a major boost if they brought in another attacker to help them continue to compete on multiple fronts moving forward.
Further, it would help them to better cope with injury blows given Suarez, Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele have all suffered setbacks already this season.
