Barcelona Target Viktor Gyokeres as Julian Alvarez Deal Stalls

Barcelona’s search for a new No. 9 is edging towards a decisive moment, and a new name has moved sharply into focus: Viktor Gyokeres.

With their push for Julian Alvarez hitting a wall, the Catalan club are now prepared to look closely at the Arsenal striker’s situation, according to journalist Jose Alvarez Haya. Movement is expected in the coming hours as Barça test the waters around the Sweden international.

Alvarez remains the dream. That has not changed. But the reality of the market is starting to bite.

Atletico’s hard line forces Barça to pivot

Barcelona’s plan all summer has been clear: bring in Julian Alvarez as the new centre-forward to spearhead the attack. The Argentine is the preferred option, the one the sporting department has built its ideal scenario around.

Atletico Madrid have simply refused to play along.

The Rojiblancos are not just reluctant to sell; they are unwilling to even sit at the table with Barcelona over their star forward. That stance has turned what Barça hoped would be a tough but possible deal into something bordering on impossible as the window ticks towards its close.

So the club has been forced to scan the market for alternatives. Lautaro Martinez’s name surfaced. So did Sporting Lisbon’s Luis Suarez. Both were floated last week, both quickly cooled.

Now Gyokeres has stepped into the frame, and this time the interest is serious enough for Barcelona to actively explore his availability.

Gyokeres under the microscope

Gyokeres only arrived at Arsenal last summer, in a deal worth around €70 million after he lit up Portugal with Sporting Lisbon and established himself as one of Europe’s most prolific strikers.

His first year in England did not collapse, but it did not explode either.

He closed the 2025-26 season with 21 goals in all competitions for Arsenal – a solid return on paper, yet short of the outrageous numbers he posted in Lisbon. The contrast has inevitably raised questions. Was Portugal the perfect storm for his game, or is there another level still to come in a different setting?

There were stretches of the campaign when he was not an automatic starter, his place in the XI occasionally up for debate. For a club like Barcelona, that makes him both a risk and an opportunity: a proven scorer whose stock is not quite as high as it was a year ago, but whose ceiling remains enticing.

Barça keep Alvarez dream alive – for now

For the moment, Barcelona have not walked away from Julian Alvarez. The club continues to keep that door open, hoping Atletico Madrid’s rigid stance might soften late in the window.

But time is a ruthless opponent.

With Ferran Torres already gone and the squad still missing a definitive reference point up front, Barcelona cannot afford to be caught without a solution if Atletico refuse to budge. That is why Gyokeres is now being actively assessed, his name moving from a background option to a genuine alternative.

The coming hours will tell whether this is just pressure on Atletico or the start of a real push for Arsenal’s Swedish striker. One way or another, Barcelona need a centre-forward. The only question left is whose name will be on the back of that shirt when the window finally slams shut.