Within the various priorities of FC Barcelona for the summer lies the signing of a second striker to provide backup and rest to the club’s Polish talisman Robert Lewandowski, who while undeniably having had a spectacular first season with the club, was not afforded must respite.
Similar to the Pole, there exist only a handful of other strikers worldwide who continue to dominate their various leagues and goal-scoring charts, with the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe being a few such names.
However, the names mentioned are far beyond Barcelona at the moment in terms of both economic feasibility and sporting objectives, with both global stars not willing to play second fiddle to any other player as it stands.
Due to this, the best bet would be an up-and-coming star who is beginning to just etch his name in the goal-scoring tallies. As such, according to SPORT, Barcelona have their eyes on a particular Danish forward who is turning heads all the way over in Italy’s Serie A with his goalscoring capabilities.
Rasmus Hojlund is a Danish international who currently plies his trade for Atalanta. He had a memorable season on an individual level, having scored 9 goals and provided 2 assists in 32 games during his debut season for the Serie A side, who they signed for last summer in a deal worth €17 million.
Dubbed the “New Haaland” by many due to their physical similarities, as both possess tall physiques, gifted left foots, and similar explosiveness to their play despite their rather deceitful massive statures in comparison.
However, while the interest from Barcelona remains concrete in the player currently valued at €35 million, they face challenges from two separate fronts.
Whereas clubs from across Europe are lining up to assess the feasibility of signing Hojlund, the biggest challenge to Barcelona exists in the form of Manchester United, who the player himself has classified as one of the top clubs in the world.
The English side recently had to witness local rivals Manchester City equal their previously undisputed continental treble following the acquisition of Erling Haaland, with the latter having even gone on to break several previously unbroken goal-scoring records in England, and now seem to be adamant on bringing in a top-level striker for their own benefit as well.
Secondly, the problem of economic feasibility remains in the way of Barcelona as well. With his valuation already at €35 million, it’s clear that Atalanta would demand a figure much more significant than his market value, one that would possibly be much too expensive for FC Barcelona to deem worthwhile given their financial restrictions.