Barcelona are reportedly considering a swoop for Arsenal ace Alexandre Lacazette as they look to add sign another forward after Lionel Messi’s exit.
According to a report from Spanish publication Fichajes, Barcelona are keen on signing another forward before the summer transfer window closes and have set their sights on Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette as an option.
Lacazette has been with the Gunners since 2017 and has been a largely reliable customer, although there have been times that he has gone through a rough patch in front of goal. To date, the Frenchman has bagged 65 goals and 28 assists from 170 matches for Arsenal, finishing as their top scorer for the 2020/21 season.
However, Lacazette has entered the final year of his contract with Arsenal, leading to speculations over his future. The 30-year-old has been linked with a move to reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, with now Barcelona also seemingly registering an interest in his services with the transfer deadline three weeks away.
Barcelona suffered their biggest blow ever when it was confirmed that Lionel Messi would not be renewing his contract due to financial problems and La Liga regulations. Now a player of Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine international has left a huge void in the attacking department that the Catalans will struggle to fill.
Memphis Depay has arrived this summer to bolster the attack, as has Sergio Aguero. However, the latter has been ruled out with an injury until October. And with there being question marks over the future of Martin Braithwaite as well, Barcelona may well be forced to dip their toes into the market for another forward.
Lacazette, to that end, has emerged as an option for the Blaugrana. The 30-year-old Arsenal striker, given that he is in the final year of his contract is likely to cost around £15 million. Quite how Barcelona manage to fund the move and whether there is any room on their bloated wage bill to fit another new signing is a huge question, however.
Apart from Lacazette, the report also adds that the La Liga bigwigs are also looking at Lazio’s versatile Argentine forward Joaquin Correa, while Maxi Gomez of Valencia has also emerged as an option. It now remains to be seen who Barcelona decide to go after, provided they are still in a position to make new signings.
