Barcelona are reportedly scouring the possibility of signing 28-year-old Valencia forward Rodrigo Moreno as potential Luis Suarez backup.
Spanish publication MARCA have reported that Barcelona are focused on signing a backup for Luis Suarez in the summer transfer window. To that end, the La Liga champions have identified Valencia striker Rodrigo Moreno to be the solution to the problem.
A poor end to the season has given way to a lot of uncertainty at Camp Nou. Ernesto Valverde is not guaranteed to still be the manager by the team returns for pre-season training in a couple of months. But, that does not mean the recruitment stops at Barcelona.
Attack has reportedly emerged as a priority for Barcelona in recent weeks, with a striker in particular, being high on their wishlist, and for good reason. Luis Suarez has been a true asset for the Catalans since making his way to the club from Liverpool in the summer of 2014. But, over these last five years, a big issue for Barcelona has been his backup.
From Munir El Haddadi to Sandro Ramirez to Paco Alcacer and back to Munir, none of the backup options have managed to make an impact in Suarez’s absence. With the issue being exposed brutally in the season gone by, Barcelona have turned their attention towards Rodrigo Moreno.
Rodrigo has not looked back since joining Valencia from SL Benfica. During his time with Los Che, the Spaniard has become a key part of the national side while also becoming one of the best strikers in La Liga. His goalscoring record though, could do with some improvement, with the 28-year-old finding the back of the net just 52 times in 186 appearances across all competitions.
But, this past season turned out to be one of his best in his senior career, with Rodrigo producing a return of 15 goals and 10 assists in 51 outings. Having delivered in some big matches during the course of the campaign, he could, in theory, be the ideal solution that Barcelona are seeking.
But, his €100 million valuation is proving to be a real stumbling block for Barcelona in his pursuit. Indeed, shelling out such an amount for a backup option is far from viable and it is still unclear if the player himself would be open to joining the Blaugrana to only be a backup option.
Having said that, with the move for Antoine Griezmann, who is a Manchester United target again, hitting a snag, Rodrigo could get more game time than the usual backup striker. But, the transfer fee still remains a bone of contention and it remains to be seen if Barcelona can shake hands on an agreeable figure with Valencia for the 28-year-old forward.
