Injuries to both Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembélé have left Barcelona short of options in attack.
Barcelona manager Quique Setién has made it no secret that he believes the club need to sign a forward if they want to have a shot at winning both La Liga and the Champions League.
According to Sport, Setién said,
"“We have a few names … but there are other conditions we have to assess and have in mind. In many cases, it doesn’t depend on me, nor the club, but on different circumstances. It’s obvious that we need someone to come in and help out.”More from Everything BarcaFC Barcelona tracking Belgian WonderkidFC Barcelona vs Betis Player RatingsBarça boss Xavi to get contract extensionFC Barcelona planning swoop for Arsenal midfielderBarcelona interested in €30 million wonderkid"
The winter transfer window is closed but the Catalans could be given an exception should Dembélé be out for at least five months.
The French forward is set to go undergo surgery in Finland on his hamstring that will likely bring an end to his season.
The likes of Willian José, Lucas Perez, Loren Moron and Angel Rodriguez are on the list of possible replacements.
Regardless of who is brought in, they can only play in the league.
That Barcelona can only count on Antoine Griezmann, Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati going forward speaks to the poor planning by the board.
They failed to sign a back-up for Luis Suarez who is also likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. They let Carles Perez believing they could count on Dembélé and are now scrambling to sign someone for depth.
The names mentioned as possible candidates all have their pros and cons. For most, the risk is that they are all over 30 but they would be low-cost additions meaning they would not get in the way of signing someone like Lautaro Martinez in the summer.
The most intriguing names on the list are Loren Moron and Willian José. Both are under 30 but both would be considerable investments. In fact, Real Sociedad would want Barcelona to pay the release clause for José.
Whoever the club end up signing will only be a short-term solution. The squad planning has been nothing less than disastrous and the team is now paying the consequences.