According to Matteo Moretto on La Pizarra de Quintana, Barcelona is enquiring about the possibility of signing Atletico Madrid’s striker Alexander Sorloth.
The delivery followed very soon after Atletico knocked out Barcelona from the Champions League.
Sorloth has been a genuine nuisance against Barcelona in recent times. This is mostly due to his physical presence and his knack for scoring goals especially late in the second half. The 30-year-old Norwegian is currently viewed as a replacement/rotation option if Robert Lewandowski was to leave or move into a lesser role this summer.
Although this news is getting relevance in the Spanish media, the profile of the player raises many doubts about the sporting direction of FC Barcelona and of Hansi Flick.
The figures: An overachiever with respect to volume
Sorloth’s 2025/26 season, has been solid, but not overwheming. He’s scored 10 goals in 30 La Liga games in the 2025/26 season. Having said that, his assists numbers are concerning. So far, he has registered 0 assists for Atletico Madrid.
At the moment, he is outperforming his expected goals of 7.54 so he could just be a clinical finisher. Sorloth is a major threat in the air, and in the current season, he has won 79 aerial duels with a success rate of 56.8%. Of his 54 total shots, 25 have been headers.
Sorloth’s shot map tells you everything; he is mainly a deep poacher who takes a lot of shots inside the six-yard box. He operates as a traditional “number nine”, thriving on crosses from wide areas in particular.
Many people are sceptical of the connection due to Sorloth’s fit in Hansi Flick’s system. Flick employs a high-intensity press which requires his players to quickly regain possession and attack when they have the ball.
The tactical mismatch
Alexander Sorloth, who stands 195cm tall, is already at the age of 30 years. He doesn't have the recovery speed and mobility to maintain a high-press for 90 minutes.
His pass completion of 74% coupled with a 33.3% success rate on dribbles suggest that he is not quite comfortable engaging in good build-up play away from the box, especially for Barcelona, who work in “man-reduced” spaces that need series of quick one-touches.
The Luuk de Jong similarity: History repeating?
The profile of Sorloth instantly triggers memory of Luuk de Jong’s experiences at the club. De Jong arrived at a moment the club was being faced with a financial and sporting crisis.
Luuk de Jong’s signing was met with huge criticisms but, he later on became a cult hero in the eyes of many Barcelona fans, especially by scoring a lot of crucial late headers and was essential in securing a second-place finish for Barcelona in the 2021-22 season under Xavi Hernandez.
Nonetheless, there are clear distinctions between Sorloth and Luuk de Jong. De Jong was an emergency loan with no significant financial risk. Sorloth's contract with Atletico lasts until 2028 and his market value is over €23 million. If Barcelona were to move ahead, this would be a big signing for a 30-year-old.
De Jong's role in Barcelona was served as a “Plan B” for the final 15 minutes of matches. Barcelona is considering Sorloth as a more consistent rotational piece, according to Moretto’s report.
Barcelona’s best football under Hansi Flick has come through the speed and technical interplay of the “93 percent win-rate” Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, with Pedri orchestrating the play. Adding a static target man like Sorloth could disrupt that chemistry.
But also, having a player of a completely different profile for the last 20-30 minutes could be something very beneficial for Barcelona.
Final Verdict
The link of Alexander Sorloth to Barcelona has come as a major surprise to everybody. While his aerial stats are impressive, his profile does not naturally align with the modern, high-tempo identity of Hansi Flick.
However, Sorloth’s knack for scoring late crucial goals, and settling a match is something that cannot be disregarded. Having a profile like his coming off the bench, can be a very assuring thing for Barcelona.
But given Barcelona’s dire financial situation, Sorloth might be an expensive specialist to sit on the bench. If Barcelona manage to offload certain players from the club and generate enough room for his signing, this move could one of those successful "emergency" signings of the past.
But for a team needing to overhaul its squad in multiple positions this summer, Sorloth’s signing might get termed as “good player, bad timing” situation.
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