August approaches and still no striker has signed for Barcelona. The Catalan club have been quick to do much of their transfer business this summer, bringing in Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne, Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes this month. But recruiting a centre-forward is proving much more complicated.
Barca had made it their priority to sign a forward in the winter window, with Nolito their top target. But Celta Vigo were unimpressed with the Catalan club's proposeal of a loan move with the option of sending the Spain striker back to Galicia at the end of the season.
Nolito has since moved to Manchester City and has said that his former coach Pep Guardiola was a big factor in that decision.
"I thought it was the best decision for me and my career," he said. "I had a consultation with my family and my agent and it took me just two days to make the decision. I have come to the Premier League to play with City and under Pep Guardiola, who will play me in the first team and I am very happy with the decision I took."
However, Barcelona's interest cooled in the summer as the club considered other options and as they hesitated, Guardiola stepped in to offer the player something he would not have regularly back at Camp Nou: first-team football.
A lack of opportunities was the reason why Pedro left Barca for Chelsea in the first place, frustrated at his limited playing time in the shadows of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. Nolito, nevertheless, was keen on the move last January, but at the age of 29 has opted for City where he should be in the team much more often.
Therein lies the problem for Barcelona. The Blaugrana want to bring in an elite forward, yet they know that many will not be happy on the bench. Sevilla striker Kevin Gameiro is another example and, also at the age of 29, he is closing in on a move to Atletico Madrid. Barca, in any case, do not want to pay €40m for a player who will not be a starter.
Luciano Vietto had appeared a more suitable option. Young, with plenty of pace, bags of potential and a good goalscoring record, the Argentine fits the bill at the age of 22 and could have been brought in on loan. However, the former Villarreal forward spent most of last season on the bench at Atletico and he too wants first-team football, so he has chosen to move to Sevilla instead.
So what now for Barca? One option for Luis Enrique is to stick with what he has. Denis Suarez has been brought in and can play wide, while Arda Turan is also able to fill in on the flanks and Munir El Haddadi is a promising young striker.
However, Luis Enrique is determined to sign another goalscorer as Barca seek to avoid the problems from the end of last season when Messi, Suarez and Neymar tired in April and the Catalans crashed out of the Champions League.
Barca continue to scour the market, with the club considering three forwards now: Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette, Fenerbahce's veteran Dutch attacker Robin van Persie and Fiorentina's German international Mario Gomez.
Lacazette is the most attractive of the three, but Arsenal have already seen a substantial offer turned down for the 25-year-old (who recently followed Barca on Twitter) and Lyon do not want or need to sell after Umtiti left the French club bound for the Catalan capital earlier this month.
Van Persie, meanwhile, is 33 next week, but scored 22 goals in all competitions last season and could be a decent choice in the short terrm. And it is he or Gomez (who netted 28 times on loan at Beskitas in 2015-16) who now look like the two alternatives as Barca hunt for a player who can cover for their MSN trident in the coming campaign.
As the window drags on, however, the options are decreasing for Luis Enrique and with the club unwilling to pay big money for a reserve forward, any transfer is likely to have an element of risk. The striker saga continues.
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- Goal