Barcelona director Guillermo Amor has suggested the club are considering bringing in an emergency striker following injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.
Suarez required knee surgery in January and was ruled out until May, while Dembele will undergo surgery on Tuesday after suffering a hamstring tear earlier in February.
Per Goal's Chris Burton, Amor said of a potential emergency signing:
"We cannot name names.
"Other players have left, and we have to wait and see what Dembele's situation is before we decide.
"If there's a good opportunity to sign someone, then we'll see what we can do."
Suarez is Barca's most reliable match-winner after Lionel Messi. Prior to his injury, he returned 14 goals and 11 assists from just 23 appearances this season.
The club were hoping Dembele's return from a hamstring issue that had kept him out since November would make up for them not replacing Suarez.
Barcelona's injuries mean their only senior attacking options for the coming months are Antoine Griezmann and Messi. Ansu Fati has also broken into the first team this season, but he only turned 17 in October.
The Catalan giants will announce their estimate for Dembele's expected return once he has undergone surgery.
According to The Spanish Football Podcast, if his absence will be sufficiently long, Barca may be able to dip back into the market despite the transfer window being closed:
The Spanish Football Podcast @tsf_podcast@Its_SuNnYzzZ_77 The rules start that under exceptional circumstances and if certain conditions are met (e.g. doctors have to agree Dembélé will be out for 5+ months) a club can sign outside of the transfer window. Only from within Spain, though
Per Burton, it seems any emergency deal done would be a loan rather than a permanent transfer.
Barcelona have, naturally, been linked with several different options:
Eurosport UK @Eurosport_UK🚑 Luis Suarez is sidelined for the rest of the season with injury Barcelona's four-man striker shortlist has been revealed 👇 https://t.co/MCPCCBBtBl
The club were also linked with a move for Valencia striker Rodrigo Moreno in January.
It's of no surprise Barca are considering their options given how stretched they're likely to be during the run-in, and Messi's goalscoring form might also factor into their decision.
He has 19 goals in 26 games this season, but he has failed to find the net in four of the six matches he has played since Quique Setien took charge in January.
The Guardian's Sid Lowe remarked on his troubles:
Sid Lowe @sidloweWeird phenomenon: Messi can no longer score. Very strange. Just replicated last year’s goal at Betis... only this one didn’t go in (just like his last 26 shots).
It's likely to just be a minor blip for a player who has almost 700 career goals for club and country, but without Suarez it will be a concern until he rediscovers his scoring touch.
Griezmann has hit 20 or more goals in each of the last six seasons, but he's still adapting at the Camp Nou. He has 12 in 32 appearances for Barcelona, with his most recent in La Liga coming on December 21.
2020-02-10 14:06:40Z
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2875602-barcelona-director-club-will-see-what-we-can-do-with-emergency-striker-loan
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