Barcelona's Striker Search: Álvarez or Pavlidis?

Barcelona’s hunt for a new No.9 has a clear priority and a very real problem.

Deco wants Julián Álvarez. Álvarez wants Barcelona. Atlético Madrid want nothing to do with it.

According to Spanish outlet AS, the Manchester City forward currently on loan at Atlético tops Barça’s list to replace Robert Lewandowski, who has moved on to Chicago Fire. The Catalan club have already tested Atlético’s resolve with a bid of around €100 million. It was rejected out of hand.

Atleti’s stance is hardening, not softening. The Rojiblancos, who have the 26-year-old under contract until 2030, are said to have even lodged a complaint with FIFA, convinced that Barcelona’s approach has crossed a line. From their point of view, this is a cornerstone of their future attack, not a player to be prised away a year into a long-term deal.

So Barcelona wait. But they cannot wait forever.

Pavlidis moves up the list

Behind Álvarez, the shortlist is already drawn up. Near the top of it sits Vangelis Pavlidis.

The Greek striker, now at Benfica after joining from AZ Alkmaar in 2024, has forced his way into conversations that once seemed far beyond his reach. AS reports that if the Álvarez pursuit collapses in the coming weeks, Pavlidis is one of the first names Deco and his recruitment team will turn to as a serious alternative.

He has done that the hard way. His route to the elite has never been a straight line.

At 16, Pavlidis left Greece to chase the Bundesliga dream at VfL Bochum. The first team never truly opened up for him there. Loans followed: first to Borussia Dortmund II, then to Willem II in the Netherlands. It was in the Eredivisie that something clicked. Willem II made the move permanent, and his form there convinced AZ Alkmaar to pay what now looks like a bargain €2.5 million fee in 2021 for a player who would grow into an international-level finisher for Greece.

From that point, the numbers began to speak loudly. Last season at Benfica he delivered 30 goals and six assists in 53 matches across all competitions, a return that inevitably drags the attention of bigger clubs towards Lisbon.

One performance, though, will have burned itself into Barcelona’s memory more than any spreadsheet could.

In the Champions League league phase, Pavlidis ripped through Barça’s defence with a first-half hat-trick inside 30 minutes in a wild 5-4 defeat for Benfica. Barcelona won the game, but the Greek No.9 walked away having made his point in the most brutal way a striker can: by scoring, and scoring quickly.

Benfica’s reluctant kingpin

That night at Camp Nou was not a one-off. Pavlidis has carried his form into the new season and has quickly become central to Marco Silva’s plans in Lisbon.

Silva, who took over this summer from José Mourinho after the Portuguese coach’s move to Real Madrid, has already made it clear internally that Pavlidis is too important to lose. Benfica’s stance reflects that belief. The forward is under contract until 2029, and, as reported in AS, there is little appetite in the Portuguese capital to entertain offers, no matter how loudly Barcelona might knock.

Pavlidis underlined his importance again on Thursday. With Benfica trailing 2-1 from the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie against St. Gallen, the Greek striker simply took over the second leg. He scored the first four goals in a 5-0 rout, turning the tie on its head almost single-handedly and firing Benfica into the third qualifying round, where Heart of Midlothian now await.

That kind of performance does not just win games. It shifts transfer plans.

Barcelona, still searching for the heir to Lewandowski’s role at the tip of their attack, see a forward who scores relentlessly, who has already punished them on the biggest stage, and who has shown he can carry the weight of expectation for a major club.

But Benfica see the same thing. And they have him under lock and key until 2029.

So Deco’s dilemma sharpens: keep pushing against Atlético’s brick wall for Álvarez, or turn fully towards Pavlidis and try to crack Benfica’s resistance. One club will have to bend for Barcelona to get their striker.

Right now, neither looks inclined to give an inch.