Barcelona reveal the striker they wanted ‘at all costs’ – and it’s not Julian Alvarez

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Barcelona’s pursuit of Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez made headlines this summer, but the Argentine was not the player that the Catalan side wanted ‘at all costs’, according to president Joan Laporta.

The Blaugrana hunted for a centre-forward in the summer transfer market following the departure of Robert Lewandowski but were ultimately unable to find a replacement for the Poland star.

Alvarez was considered to be the front runner in the media, with Laporta going public about a bid believed to be in the region of €100 million, but he was also conducting talks in the background for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez.

Laporta targeted Lautaro Martinez

Laporta has revealed his conversation with Inter president Beppe Marotta – and has explained it was a brief one.

“I’ll tell you what happened. One day I called Marotta. He and I, no intermediaries. I told him I would have loved to have Lautaro on my team because I admire the guy so much,” Laporta told Corriere dello Sport.

“But he didn’t even let me finish speaking. He made it clear the player wasn’t for sale and that it wouldn’t be up to him to decide whether or not to move. So I stopped the whole line of thought; there was no way to take it any further. Marotta and I have a relationship based on mutual trust. We didn’t go any further out of respect for him and for Inter.”

Martinez would have been a great Barcelona signing

Barcelona did not sign a centre-forward in the end but repurposed Raphinha to play through the middle, where he has been an outstanding success, scoring 14 goals and creating three more in just eight appearances this season.

But would Lautaro have made a similar impact at Camp Nou?

Data analytics firm SciSports rates the forwards around the same level in terms of their raw ability using its SciSkill index, which is tied to hundreds of in-game data points.

However, the two play the centre-forward role very differently. While Raphinha plays primarily as a shadow striker, Laurato is more of a poacher. This would give Barca a very different look to the one that they currently have.

Barcelona, though, would make an excellent fit for Martinez if he were to leave Inter Milan, according to SciSports’ Career Advice algorithm. This shows that in terms of playing style and development, the Catalans would make an excellent choice for him, even allowing for concerns over Hansi Flick’s formation.

Given Inter’s strong stance on Lautaro and Raphinha’s success in a new role, Barcelona are unlikely to revisit this deal, but the signs are that it would have been a fruitful one if it had gone through.

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