Barcelona have named Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah and Chelsea marksman Romelu Lukaku on a shortlist of four targets with the ability to revitalise their forward line ahead of next season, according to reports. The Catalan giants are currently said to be scouring the market in order to plan their summer recruitment strategy as they aim for a return to the summit of La Liga at the next available opportunity.
The club have already moved quickly to land a number of quality reinforcements since Xavi was appointed to replace Ronald Koeman at the helm back in November.
The likes of Adama Traore, Dani Alves and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all joined Barcelona in January and have gone on to establish themselves as crucial members of the side at the Nou Camp.
It seems as though they will be joined by no shortage of additional new faces when the transfer window re-opens at the end of the campaign.
Xavi is said to be keen on landing a new forward in order to boost his options at the top of the pitch and is widely believed to have identified Borussia Dortmund talisman Erling Haaland as his priority target.
The 21-year-old has been tipped to seek a new challenge at a top European club when his cut-price release clause becomes active this summer. However, the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid have also been credited with a desire to snap up Haaland ahead of next season and will likely provide Barcelona with plenty of competition for his signature.
Xavi has already drawn up a list of three high-profile alternatives to Haaland, which consists of Salah, Lukaku and Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski, according to AS.
The report claims that Barcelona president Joan Laporta has promised Xavi that he will have a ‘top’ forward in his squad next season and is determined to follow up by signing at least one member of the aforementioned quartet in the summer.
It is said that Salah has been identified as their second-choice option if a move for Haaland proves to be a step too far ahead of next season.
The Liverpool maestro’s representatives are said to have already reached out to Barcelona after rejecting the offer of an extension at Anfield back in December.
However, a move for Salah will only be put into action if it becomes clear that it will be impossible to bring Haaland to the club before the start of the new campaign.
The Dortmund man remains at the top of Xavi’s shortlist but it remains to be seen whether the Spaniard will eventually be forced to chase one of his other targets when the bidding re-opens in the summer.
Laporta appeared to play down Barcelona’s hopes of signing Haaland earlier this week by admitting that some deals are simply too expensive for the club to afford due to their current financial situation.
“Even if we had the best economic situation, there are operations we wouldn’t do,” Laporta told Eport3 when quizzed on a potential move for Haaland.
“[Mateu] Alemany, Jordi [Cruyff] and the technical secretary are working on improving the team, we want to do deals, but some are difficult.
“We have to save ourselves, we’ve improved the situation, but we have to complete the recovery of the economic situation.
“We won’t do deals that could put the institution at risk.”
Source: express.co.uk
