For much of the summer transfer window, it has appeared that Barcelona have been keen on acquiring Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentinian has played with Lionel Messi at international level, and given his age, projection and skill set, the youngster seemed to tick all of the boxes for the Catalans.
MORE: Barcelona’s transfer for attacker stalls due to strict La Liga rules
However, it has come to light that once Ronald Koeman took over at the Camp Nou, he had an altogether different attacking target in mind.
According to Spanish TV channel Esport 3, cited by Sport, the Dutchman wanted to sign Martinez’s club colleague, Romelu Lukaku.
The former Man United front man had been under Koeman’s command whilst the two were at Everton, and it was evidently a successful relationship.
Esport 3, cited by Sport, suggest that Barcelona went as far as studying a proposal for the Belgian powerhouse, but it quickly became apparent that the financial elements of any deal would make it impossible.
As it stands, the Catalans look set to miss out on Martinez for the same reasons.
Man Utd fans would certainly be left feeling a little embarrassed if Lukaku had ended up at Barca as he looks like being the latest in a long line of elite talents they’ve failed to get the best out of.
The 27-year-old looked like being a great signing for the Red Devils but, like other big names such as Alexis Sanchez and Angel Di Maria, struggled to get going in a slightly dysfunctional side.