On October 8, 2021, Barcelona hired Xavi Hernandez as its new coach. The Spaniard was chosen to rebuild the Culé team and assemble a team without stars. The team's performance showed up during the season, but at times it was noticeable that Barcelona lacked players of hierarchy.
Due to Barcelona's large financial debt, the club cannot aspire to make important signings. However, the idea of the management is to spend a large part of the budget to sign a striker of hierarchy. Joan Laporta and Xavi had in mind the possible strikers that could arrive at the club, but not everything went as expected.
The first one targeted was Erling Halaand. The 21-year-old Norwegian is one of the best strikers, and his great potential makes him one of the most sought-after players in the world. Barcelona were interested in Haaland and asked Borussia Dortmund for him. The player's price was the problem. His release clause is worth 75,000,000 euros, and according to Transfermarkt, the Centre-Forward has a value market of €150,000,000. Something impossible for Barcelona to afford.
Barcelona's new target became Robert Lewandowski. The Polish arrived at the Bayern Munich in 2014, and his current contract expires on June 30, 2023. Los Cules held talks with his agent, but at the same time, Bayern Munich refuses to let him go. Bayern's idea is to renew him, but if there is no agreement the Bavarian club is willing to keep him for one year and let him leave in 2023 when his contract expires.
In addition, Journalist Gianluca di Marzio reported that Bayern Munich will request between 70 and 80 million euros from Barcelona for Lewandowski. The 'Culés' had in mind to offer around 30 million euros. According to Transfermarkt, the striker's value is 50,000,000 euros. That is why the Culé Sporting Directorate activated its plan C and will seek to sign Romelu Lukaku, a difficult target.
Will Chelsea let Lukaku go?
According to Transfermarkt, in 2021, Chelsea paid 113 million euros to Inter for Lukaku, and the Belgian is under contract with the Blues until June 2026. Moreover, Thomas Tuchel showed he has no plans to sideline the 28-year-old striker: "At the moment we don't even have to think about the transfer window, because we can't talk to players, we can't sell or buy. However, Romelu still has an important role in our team. Now we are in a decisive phase of the season with many decisive matches, and we need everyone, including Romelu”.
A loan would be possible
Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, members of Barcelona's Sporting Directorate, have already met with Federico Pastorello, the player's agent, to determine what possibilities are open to them. Given that signing the player is almost impossible, a loan would be a viable option. Lukaku would be open to a move away from Chelsea, as he is not satisfied with his situation. This season he only played 25 games out of a possible 45 and scored 12 goals.
