Barcelona Open La Liga Without an Established Striker
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- Barcelona enter the new La Liga season without an established senior striker after Robert Lewandowski, 37, left for Chicago Fire and Ferran Torres moved to PSG for about €50m (£42.7m) following 21 goals in 49 appearances last season.
- Hansi Flick acknowledged the gap but pointed to Lamine Yamal as a false nine option, with the teenager coming off a 24-goal campaign and a World Cup triumph with Spain, though the German prefers the 18-year-old on the right wing.
- Atletico Madrid chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin publicly refused to sell Julian Alvarez even for €200m (£170.8m), blocking Barcelona's top target despite interest from Real Madrid too.
- Summer signings included Rodri from Manchester City plus Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi for pace and width, with Belgian winger Jesse Bisiwu, 18, arriving as a longer-term investment.
- Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres (21 goals in his first Premier League season), Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, and Sporting's Colombian forward Luis Suarez are alternative targets as the 1 September transfer deadline looms.
- Barcelona open La Liga at Elche on Sunday, 23 August, with Flick weighing a fluid frontline, a false nine, or Dani Olmo and Raphinha as central options.
Why it matters: With Alvarez effectively off the table and the window closing 1 September, Barcelona's title defense hinges on Flick's tactical experimentation — a false nine or rotating frontline — rather than a conventional number nine, a structural vulnerability their La Liga rivals don't share. The 23 August opener at Elche will be the first live test of an unproven attacking identity built around a teenager.
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