Barcelona have a shortlist of five strikers for Luis Suarez’s backup

Barcelona have five strikers in their shortlist who will play as a backup to Luis Suarez. 

For any title challenge team, it is necessary to have good squad strength because as the season kicks on there we will be plenty of suspensions and injuries which will force the manager to look at backup options.

Some players sit on the bench and earn a lot of amounts and get to play a few amounts of games, winning several titles. A prime example is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who never forced into the starting eleven, but he was a super substitute by scoring plenty of important goals later on in the game, including the one against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

Barcelona have a great starting eleven, but their forward department will take a toil if Luis Suarez is sidelined due to an injury or suspension. It is no doubt that Messi could play as a striker, but the manager would not want to disrupt the plans as he would seek a proper alternative to the Uruguayan.

Paco Alcacer was loaned out to Borussia Dortmund during the summer window. The Spaniard has stamped the authority in the Bundesliga and the German outfit have stroked a permanent deal to lure him away to Signal Iduna Park.

On the other hand, Munir El Haddadi is another striker to leave Nou Camp, after being promised enough game time at Sevilla. The Catalans were able to recoup 1 million euros from this deal because his contract gets over by this summer.

This has been one position which Ernesto Valverde has been pondering to strengthen for months now. The Barcelona manager will be aiming to strengthen the forward line before the transfer window closes.

He has five strikers on the shortlist who could operate as a backup Luis Suarez, according to Daily Mail. The five strikers are said to be Alvaro Morata, Olivier Giroud, Lucas Perez, Christian Stuani, and Fernando Llorente.

It looks like the Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is heading to Atletico Madrid on a loan deal until the end of the season. Olivier Giroud might be forced to stay put because Maurizio Sarri would not have any other striker at disposal.

With Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez reportedly heading to China and Valencia respectively, the chances of signing Lucas Perez is minimal. Harry Kane who is expected to miss out for three months, means that it will be tough to land Fernando Llorente.

Christian Stuani is the only possible option, but with age not at his side, Barcelona might well look up to other striking options to strengthen this department.