Barcelona's No.9 Search: Álvarez Pursuit Stalls, Kroupi Considered

Barcelona’s hunt for a new No.9 is starting to look like a summer saga. Julián Álvarez remains the headline act on their wishlist, but the Spanish champions are already working on a Plan B – and it has led them to Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi.

According to a source who spoke to ESPN, Barça have made contact to gauge the possibility of signing the 20-year-old striker, even as they keep their focus on Álvarez, who is still viewed as the priority to replace Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski’s move to Chicago Fire has left a hole at the heart of Hansi Flick’s attack. Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi have arrived to add speed and unpredictability in wide areas, yet there is no natural heir to the No.9 shirt. That is where Álvarez comes in.

Joan Laporta has already gone public: Barcelona have lodged an offer for the Argentina international, who told ESPN in June that he wants to leave Atlético Madrid. Atlético have rejected that bid. Laporta has made it clear the proposal is not indefinite, but it will stay on the table if the Madrid club soften their stance.

For now, they have not blinked. So Barcelona are looking elsewhere.

Kroupi is one of the names under serious consideration. The France U21 forward has been tracked by several of Europe’s biggest clubs after a breakout season in the Premier League. Bournemouth, though, are in no mood to cash in cheaply. Various reports suggest they would demand upwards of €100 million, a staggering jump from the €15m they paid Lorient just a year ago.

On the pitch, Kroupi has justified the noise. Thirteen goals in 35 appearances in his debut campaign for Bournemouth marked him out as one of the most exciting young forwards in England, a powerful blend of movement, composure and penalty-box instinct. Those are precisely the qualities Barcelona need as they remodel an attack that has delivered domestically but fallen short on the European stage.

Flick, preparing for his third season in charge, has already overseen a significant reshaping of the frontline. Gordon has arrived from Newcastle United, Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund. Lewandowski has gone to MLS, Marcus Rashford has returned to Manchester United after his loan spell ended, and Ferran Torres’ future remains uncertain despite his status as the man who scored Spain’s winning goal in the World Cup final against Argentina.

The message is clear: nobody in the forward line is fully secure, and the structure of the attack is being rewritten.

For Barcelona, the ideal scenario is still Álvarez walking through the doors at the training ground, ready-made, proven at the highest level, and capable of leading the line from day one. But if Atlético hold their ground, the Catalan club will need to decide how far they are willing to push for Kroupi – and whether a €100m gamble on a 20-year-old from Bournemouth is the kind of bold stroke that defines an era, or the kind that reshapes a transfer strategy in an instant.