Lukaku and Barcelona’s four-man striker shortlist

Karan Tejwani

• 5 May 2022 10:37 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona have made it a priority to sign a new forward in the summer, drawing up a four-man shortlist for their next target, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The club signed Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January transfer window, and have been impressed by the two, but will let go of other players.

Players such as Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite will be allowed to leave, while Luuk de Jong and Adama Traore’s loans won’t be extended, leaving space in the team for other forwards.

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Here are the four forwards reportedly on Barcelona’s shortlist.

Who are Barcelona targeting?

Erling Haaland

Barcelona have long maintained an interest in Erling Haaland, seeing as he’s one of the game’s brightest talents and will have a big future.

The Borussia Dortmund forward is averaging a record of almost a goal every game since moving to the Bundesliga club in January of 2020 and could finally leave the club this year.

However, considering Barcelona’s poor financial condition and the overall cost of the operation, which includes high agent fees, this is something that is unlikely to happen.

Robert Lewandowski

This would probably be the cheapest deal of the lot, purely because of Robert Lewandowski’s age and contract situation at Bayern Munich.

Lewandowski’s contract talks at the German champions have been ongoing, and the club seem optimistic that their top scorer will renew, but there have been other stories elsewhere.

In Spain, it’s believed that Barcelona have been keeping an eye on the situation and may make their move soon to get the Pole.

Mohamed Salah

Another transfer that could be fairly complicated, but one with an opening – Liverpool and Mohamed Salah have long been in contract talks, but the end hasn’t been reached.

The Egyptian’s wage demands have been seen as hefty by the club, but they are still trying to come to a conclusion, and Barcelona may take advantage.

The big problem is Liverpool’s competitive advantage: Salah currently plays for one of the world’s best teams, and moving to Barcelona would change that.

Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea hasn’t gone as planned, and he has spent many matches out of the starting eleven, prompting rumours of a move elsewhere.

Chelsea’s record signing started off well, but things haven’t quite been the same since, and there has been interest from clubs abroad to reignite the Belgian’s career.

The stumbling block would be that Chelsea will want to recoup a chunk of the £97.5 million they paid for the forward – something Barcelona would struggle to do.