Barcelona has missed Luis Suarez this season. The Uruguay striker is one of the most clinical finishers in football and his injury has overstretched Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati‘s performance.
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In order to help Barcelona offensively and fill Suarez’s void, Quique Setien had listed Lautaro Martinez and Neymar as the clubs primary transfer targets in the summer transfer window. However, due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the Spanish giants have been drained financially and might not able to afford the duo.
The club has started scouting the market for cheaper alternatives for the attacking duo and has added players such as Serge Gnabry, Jadon Sancho, Timo Werner and Dries Mertens to their radar.
Dries Mertens has a contract with Napoli which expires in the upcoming transfer window. After most probably failing to qualify for the Champions League this season the 33-year-old striker is desperate to sign for a club which enables him to play in the Champions League in one of his last few seasons of competitive football. According to the Don Balon, Barcelona, Chelsea, Juventus and Manchester United have shown interest to sign the Belgium international.
As things stand Frank Lampard has been the most successful in convincing Mertens to join Chelsea and has had advanced talks with his agent to discuss his wages. Napoli are yet to respond to theses advancements and seem hopeful to keep the Belgium international in Italy which has been his home since 2013.
Barca must try and lure Mertens away from Chelsea. The experienced striker will add great depth to Barca’s attacking options and will help remove pressure off players such as Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati who have been overplayed this season, thus, helping the players perform better in the upcoming season. The 33 year old can also cover up Luis Suarez void who is past his prime since a few years.
Signing the Belgian will also reduce expenditure on the clubs transfers budget. Barca could use alternatively use their funds on signing a world-class defender as Samuel Umtiti and Junior Firpo are set to move away from the Camp Nou.
Do you think Barca will be able to sign Mertens in the upcoming season?