Barcelona Still Has No Answer at Striker Ahead of Elche Opener

LaLiga is just days away from kicking off, and Barcelona still hasn't solved a problem that's been dragging on for weeks: who's going to play at center forward. The league opener is set for Sunday, August 23 at Elche's stadium, and Hansi Flick is still turning over a puzzle with more pieces than the board can hold.

The transfer market has handed the German coach five new faces: Rodri, Cancelo, Gordon, Adeyemi and Bissiwu. None of them is a true center forward, so the search for a Lewandowski replacement remains open, and a late move before the market closes hasn't been ruled out. In the meantime, the coach has to improvise.

The Attacking Puzzle

The option that's gained the most traction in training is Raphinha playing as a false nine. Flick already tried it against Basel, in the second-to-last preseason test, and it didn't look bad. If the Brazilian tucks into the middle, Lamine Yamal would take a wing, leaving one open spot on the other flank, contested by Adeyemi and Gordon. For now, the German seems to have a slight edge simply for having been present since day one of preseason, while the Englishman joined later.

There's another path, less likely but still real: going with a true box striker. That's where the name Hamza Abdelkarim comes in, Barca's top scorer in preseason, who has earned his way into the conversation, even if only as a dark horse.

Midfield Overflowing, Defense Still in Question

In midfield the picture looks different, there are more than enough options. Marc Bernal and Fermin Lopez appear to have all but locked down their spots after a full preseason. The question is who joins them. Everything points to Xavi Espart claiming the role if Flick sticks with a setup of two holding midfielders and an attacking midfielder. If instead the coach prefers a single pivot with two box-to-box midfielders, Dani Olmo could get the nod despite returning late from vacation. Gavi and Pedri remain secondary options, and Rodri, with barely any training under his belt, isn't ready for the opener yet.

In the back is where the most questions remain unanswered. Kounde and Balde didn't have the season expected of them, and Balde even lost his starting spot to Cancelo after his arrival in January. For the match against Elche, Eric Garcia looks set at right back and Gerard Martin at left center back. At left back, with Cancelo just arrived and not an option to start there, the choice comes down to giving Balde continuity or trying academy product Jordi Pesquer. In central defense, Cubarsi, Christensen and Kounde himself, who already returned to the center of defense at the Gamper, are competing for a spot. Between the posts there's no doubt at all: Joan Garcia is the undisputed starter.

With all this on the table, the likely lineup for the match at Elche would be: Joan Garcia; Eric Garcia, Christensen, Gerard Martin, Balde; Bernal, Espart, Fermin; Lamine Yamal, Adeyemi, Raphinha.

The Dream Lineup, Still Under Construction

It's a different exercise to imagine the ideal team, the one Flick would field with everyone available and no preseason constraints. There, Cancelo would take the left back spot, Cubarsi would anchor central defense, and Rodri alongside Pedri would run the midfield, with Dani Olmo or Fermin rounding out the trio. Up top, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha on the wings would leave the middle open for the caliber of number nine the club is still searching for: Joan Garcia; Eric Garcia, Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Cancelo; Rodri, Pedri, Dani Olmo; Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and the pending signing up top.

That ideal lineup, though, remains an incomplete picture. Until that center forward arrives, or is ruled out entirely, Flick's Barca will have to keep solving its scoring problem with borrowed solutions, just as it did throughout preseason.