Two Liverpool stars
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Hansi Flick enjoyed an excellent first season at Barcelona as they dominated arch rivals Real Madrid to win LaLiga. Barcelona have unearthed another superstar from their famed La Masia academy with Lamine Yamal currently the most valuable player in the world on Transfermarkt at €200 million. Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski also enjoyed excellent seasons with Flick’s preferred attacking trio providing 147 goal contributions between them across all competitions.
Barcelona, however, still want to strengthen their attacking options this summer but they’ve already been turned down by their priority target, Nico Williams. The Spanish international has been courted by Barcelona for two years but Williams shocked Catalan club chiefs by penning a new long-term deal at Athletic Club. Therefore, Barcelona will need to turn to alternative targets and we’ve analysed five potential options to compliment the imminent arrival of Swedish youngster Roony Bardghji.
Five Barcelona attacking transfer targets
It’s understood that Luis Díaz is now Barcelona’s main target to strengthen their attacking options. Barcelona have been rebuffed in two approaches already by Liverpool but they will revive their interest over the coming days. It’s been widely reported that Díaz is interested in moving to Spain with his current wage at Anfield not in the same ballpark as some of his teammates. Díaz, however, also has interest from Bayern Munich and he’s reportedly already agreed personal terms with the Bundesliga champions. Díaz would occupy the left-wing berth at Barcelona, which could allow Raphinha to switch to a more central role.
AC Milan are reportedly willing to cash in on Rafael Leão this summer as it feels like the optimum moment to part ways. Leão’s talent is unquestionable but his career has stagnated in Italy in recent times and he’s not reached his full potential. Milan are willing to cash in for around €70 million but that fee could prove problematic to Barcelona, as could his wage demands. Barcelona’s financial issues are well documented as they’ve been problems registering players with LaLiga in previous summers due to their wage bill and Leão’s fee could prove prohibitive. Joan Laporta, however, is reportedly a huge admirer of Leão and he’s been linked with the Catalan club.
Marcus Rashford has hardly been coy about his desire to join Barcelona this summer and he’s reportedly willing to drop his wage demands to secure his dream move. And it appears now that Barcelona will move for Rashford with reports suggesting that the Spanish giants have made him their priority. The England international has no future at Manchester United after falling out with Ruben Amorim and his number 10 jersey has been passed to Matheus Cunha. Rashford enjoyed a productive loan spell at Aston Villa during the second half of last season and another loan move seems likely, with Barcelona holding talks with his representatives earlier this summer.
While Darwin Núñez isn’t a natural winger, the Uruguayan international can be deployed from the left and he’d offer an alternative to Lewandowski up front. The Polish striker netted 42 goals last summer and shows little sign of slowing up but he will turn 37 next month and Barcelona need to look to the future. Núñez is available for around €50m this summer and he’d be an intriguing option to improve Barcelona’s frontline.
Randal Kolo Muani would represent a shrewd investment for Barcelona and they’ve been linked with the French international previously. The 26-year-old struggled badly at PSG after his eye-watering €95m move from Frankfurt in 2023. But Kolo Muani revived his career on-loan at Juventus last season with 13 goal contributions in 13 games. The Italian giants want Kolo Muani to return on-loan but PSG want a permanent sale and their asking price of around €40m is reasonable. Kolo Muani is extremely versatile and can play across the frontline, which makes him a viable cheaper option for Barcelona.