La Liga heavyweights Barcelona are reportedly weighing up the prospect of signing 25-year-old Brazilian international Gabigol from Flamengo in the summer.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Gabigol is the subject of interest from Barcelona over a possible move in the summer transfer window. The Brazilian international, who has emerged as a possible Robert Lewandowski alternative, is valued at around €30 million by Flamengo.
Gabriel Barbosa, better known as Gabigol, has resurrected his stuttering career since joining Flamengo from Inter Milan. The 25-year-old initially returned to Brazil on a season-long loan deal until the end of the 2019 season before moving to Flamengo permanently in January 2020. And he has not looked back since.
The Brazilian international has enjoyed a solid start to the 2022 campaign, scoring 14 goals in 20 outings thus far. And Gabigol’s exploits over the last few years at Flamengo have not gone unnoticed, with several high profile clubs across Europe, including Barcelona, closely monitoring his progress.
Barcelona will need to sign a striker in the summer transfer window as Martin Braithwaite will likely depart from Camp Nou to secure regular game-time elsewhere and Luuk de Jong will return to Sevilla for good upon the completion of his loan deal. That will leave Xavi Hernandez with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the only natural centre-forward at his disposal.
As a result, the Catalan giants have been linked with several strikers in the last few weeks, with Erling Haaland initially emerging as their priority target. But Barcelona soon deemed Haaland too expensive to pursue before setting sights on Bayern Munich talisman Robert Lewandowski.
While Lewandowski is open to joining Barcelona, Bayern Munich will not entertain any offers for the Polish international, prompting the Blaugrana to identify alternatives. Several players have thus emerged on Barcelona’s radar, with Gabigol the latest striker to be linked with the La Liga heavyweights.
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Signing the Brazilian international will not set Barcelona back by much either, with Flamengo likely to demand around €30 million for him. The price tag should fall within Barcelona’s budget, and it will be interesting to see if they are ready to table a €30 million bid to prise Gabigol away from Flamengo in the summer transfer window.