Barcelona's Striker Hunt Intensifies as Transfer Deadline Approaches
Joan Laporta was through the doors at Barcelona’s training complex early on Tuesday, long before the real work with the ball began. He wanted a word with Hansi Flick. He wanted to see the players. And then he wanted to get down to business.
Once the greetings were done, the president headed straight into a meeting with the sporting management team, a thick stack of unresolved files on the table and a simple reality hanging over all of it: there is just one week left until the transfer window shuts on 1 September.
Deco arrived at almost the same moment. That was no coincidence. Barcelona have several operations open, and the clock is loud enough now that everyone at the top of the club can hear it.
Striker search dominates the agenda
At the very top of the list sits one priority: a pure No 9.
With Robert Lewandowski gone, the sporting department is convinced the squad needs a specialist centre-forward. Names are on the list, conversations have started, but the delicate part begins now: turning talks into deals in the most chaotic days of the market. That means accelerating contacts with players, with agents, with clubs, and working out which operations are actually viable in the short time left.
Laporta and Deco are following every twist. The two have kept a constant line open over the striker issue and the rest of the window, holding repeated meetings in recent weeks as they try to read a market that changes by the hour.
Barcelona’s early-season attacking displays have been electric, highlighted by the 5-0 demolition of Elche, yet that hasn’t shifted the internal view. The feeling inside the sporting department is clear: the team still needs a recognised centre-forward, not just a collection of forwards capable of doing a job there when required.
The squad offers options. Raphinha can play through the middle. So can Anthony Gordon. Hamza Abdelkarim is another who can operate centrally. But the club believes each of them is better used in his natural role, where his strengths are maximised rather than compromised.
Gordon’s flexibility was one of the reasons Barcelona moved for him in the first place. The England international can attack from wide or lead the line, giving Flick extra tools to tweak games. Even so, the plan is not to lean on versatility as a permanent solution to a structural gap.
Balde in the spotlight as United circle
The striker chase is not the only live issue. Alejandro Balde’s future has moved sharply into focus.
Manchester United have declared their interest in the Spanish full-back and are prepared to explore a loan deal. Barcelona, for their part, would rather a permanent transfer if he is to leave at all. That difference in approach is central to the talks and will shape how the final week unfolds.
If Balde does go, Barcelona may be forced back into the market again, this time for a left-footed centre-back to strengthen the defensive line. That would add yet another task to an already crowded to-do list before deadline day.
Strong start, no complacency
The emphatic win over Elche has lifted the mood at the club. It pleased Laporta, it backed Flick’s early work, and it gave the squad a jolt of confidence. But it did not soften the stance of the sporting management.
They see a team that can overwhelm opponents, but also a squad that still needs balance and a focal point up front. For them, the message is unchanged: the striker is essential.
Seven days remain.
Barcelona are racing the calendar now, juggling the search for a No 9, the uncertainty around Balde, and any late opportunities or departures that might appear. Laporta and Deco will keep pushing, file by file, call by call, until the window finally slams shut and the squad they must live with is locked in.
