Barca require a striker
Chelsea’s Giroud fits the bill from an impressive hitlist
BARCELONA will make a decision on signing a new striker after the Copa del Rey second leg against Levante, but their shortlist will raise a few eyebrows.
Chelsea duo Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud, Tottenham Hotspur’s Fernando Llorente, West Ham United’s Lucas Perez and Cristhian Stuani are all in the running.
The club sold their only reserve centre forward, Munir, to Sevilla last week. Barca could still make a signing but they would look for a loan with no obligation to buy if they crash out of the cup, and that would rule out Stuani and Morata.
The Uruguayan, formerly of Middlesbrough, is La Liga’s third-top scorer with 12 goals for Girona, who will only sell if Barcelona meet his €15 million release clause. The club are baulking at paying that much for a 32-year-old.
Chelsea will not let Morata leave on anything less than a loan deal with an obligation to buy. He would be the most expensive of Barcelona’s options and the club are not wholly convinced he is the right player to eventually replace Luis Suarez.
Ernesto Valverde is a fan of Llorente but Barcelona believe the injury to Harry Kane makes it harder for them to bring him in on loan.
Giroud ticks many of the right boxes in Barca’s search for a player who would be ready to play immediately. He has not played in La Liga but is experienced enough to fit immediately into the team, though Chelsea are not in a position to lose forwards without replacements.
Another name now under consideration is Lucas Perez. Betis are also trailing the former Arsenal forward now at West Ham.
Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has rarely seen eye to eye with Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Swedish superstar has taken aim once more at the 33-year-old.
Honing in on comments made by the Portguese star, Ibrahimovic has been quick to dismiss Ronaldo’s premise that he loves to take on a challenge, insisting that there are few easier jobs in world football than leading the line at Juventus.
Juve have lifted the Serie A title in each of the last seven seasons, while Ronaldo has already scored 15 goals in 25 appearances since moving from Real Madrid last summer for £100m.
And the LA Galaxy forward has said that if Ronaldo wanted a real challenge, he would have joined a struggling side.
“Ronaldo talks about challenges but he decided to go to a club who have been winning the Serie A title with their eyes closed,” he said.
“Why did he not choose a club from a second division a few years ago? Try to become a champion with such a second division (club) and lead them to the highest level.
“Moving to Juventus is not a challenge at all.”
Ronaldo has attempted to portray his move to Juventus as a bold one.