Barcelona still without a striker as transfer window winds down

With less than two weeks left before the transfer window closes, Barcelona still doesn't have its "9." The deal for Julian Alvarez, the name that generated the most excitement inside the club's offices, has been fading week after week, and Atletico Madrid has no intention of moving off its valuation of 200 million euros. On top of that, Robert Lewandowski is gone (he left for Chicago Fire FC after his contract expired), and Ferran Torres departed for Paris Saint-Germain for 50 million euros. In other words, Barca lost both of last season's strikers and still hasn't found a replacement.

Offensive reinforcements did arrive, to be fair: Anthony Gordon from Newcastle for 70 million euros and Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund for 22 million. But neither is a true "9," and the hole remains. If nobody comes in before the deadline closes, the team could start the season leaning on an academy product, a teenager, or a winger forced to play center forward until January. For a team chasing its third consecutive LaLiga title, that plan sounds insufficient.

Before Alvarez, other names didn't pan out: Harry Kane remains firmly at Bayern Munich, Joao Pedro just renewed with Chelsea through 2032, and Junior Kroupi of Bournemouth was ruled out after a metatarsal fracture in preseason.

What profile does Barca actually need?

Before running through the list of candidates, it's worth defining what the club is looking for. The next "9" doesn't need to match the 30 goals Lewandowski and Torres combined for in LaLiga last season, since Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Raphinha already provide goals from other positions. But he should be good for a minimum of 15 goals and/or assists. On top of that, Hansi Flick demands a high press and an advanced defensive line, so any candidate has to run, and run fast. Alvarez checked every one of those boxes, plus set pieces, but it's precisely because he combines so many strengths that he's out of reach right now.

Among established names, Mikel Oyarzabal stands out as the safest option: he comes off being the starting "9" for Spain's 2026 World Cup winning squad, links up almost by instinct with Yamal, Pedri and Olmo through the national team, and posted 15 goals in 30 appearances as a starter for Real Sociedad last season. The problem is twofold: he's 29, has never played outside Real Sociedad, and his release clause sits at 75 million euros.

Lautaro Martinez of Inter offers similar quality on the ball, but in Milan he's always played alongside a reference forward like Thuram or Dzeko, never as a true "9," and at 28, suddenly shifting that role isn't simple. Omar Marmoush, who also fit the profile, is close to signing with Tottenham.

Cheaper alternatives: Mikautadze and Esposito

Looking for profiles similar to Alvarez's but at a lower cost, two interesting names come up. Georges Mikautadze, 25, is having a breakout run after stops at Metz, Lyon and Villarreal: last season he scored 13 goals and added six assists in just over 2,000 minutes in his debut LaLiga campaign. His release clause rose from 60 to 76 million euros in August, nearly matching Oyarzabal's, though with more room to grow given his age.

Sebastiano Esposito, developed at Inter and seasoned through eight separate loan spells, found stability at Cagliari: seven goals and five assists in Serie A last season, with a reading of the game that recalls Alvarez when he drops deep to link play. One detail worth watching: Cagliari itself disciplined him this summer for missing preseason training without permission amid a contract dispute.

The young gamble

A riskier but higher-ceiling option is Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 21, who converted from winger to center forward at Lille amid an injury crisis and ended up going to the 2026 World Cup with Belgium. His speed shows up in transition, though he still lacks polish in tight spaces, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by Atletico, who is also tracking him. Nicolo Tresoldi, 22 and a product of Club Brugge, brings good goal instincts and combination play. And from within the club's own academy is Hamza Abdelkarim, an 18-year-old who arrived from Al Ahly, scored four goals in the first team's preseason, and earned praise internally, though asking him to carry the load immediately would be too big a gamble for a club with Barcelona's ambitions.