Although he has made a very good start to the current season, FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is still raising some doubts within the Catalan club.
These doubts are not related to his present form but rather to the future, as the Polish forward is already 36 years old, and the Blaugranas understand that he is bound to slow down sooner or later.
However, for now, Barcelona are very satisfied with the striker. As such, the fact that he will receive an automatic one-year contract extension if he plays 55% of their games is seen as a welcome development.
But this situation also complicates their hunt for a possible replacement of their superstar forward, as they have one player in their sights, Viktor Gyokeres, for this purpose, whose signing will be quite possible in the next summer transfer window.
However, signing him next summer would require convincing him to play a complementary role alongside Lewandowski for one season, which could prove challenging for the Catalans.
In such a context, SPORT reports that Barcelona have already found a formula to solve this problem, as they intend to get the Swedish striker for €70 million, and then allow him to remain at his current club, Sporting CP, for another season.
But this solution will still be difficult to implement. One of the difficulties once again will be to convince Gyokeres, as he is already 26 and might not be too keen to spend another season in Portugal.
This will especially be the case with several other top European clubs also interested in him. One such club is Manchester United, who have been struggling in the Premier League, and Ruben Amorim’s appointment can help them in Gyokeres’ pursuit.
Similarly, Manchester City might also be interested in him, especially if Erling Haaland ends up leaving the English club. Furthermore, the appointment of the former Sporting CP official, Hugo Viana, as their Sporting Director will further help them in the Swede’s pursuit.
Thus, even though they have found a good solution to this problem, it remains to be seen whether Barcelona will be able to implement it going forward.