Who will step up as the saviour? Rare attributes leave Barcelona facing a complex puzzle

Before searching for names, Barcelona must define precisely the type of player Hansi Flick needs. First, they need a striker who can score goals regularly. Lewandowski and Ferran Torres shared the central striker role last season, scoring 30 goals between them in La Liga.

Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Raphinha offer other sources of goals, so Barcelona need not sign a striker who scores 30 on his own. But the new man must be influential enough to score and create no fewer than 15 goals across the season.

The matter goes beyond scoring. Flick's ideal striker must create chances, combine with the midfielders and open up spaces for his teammates. He also needs the skill to dribble and play between the lines.

The third factor is perhaps the most important: the ability to press and run at high speed. Flick relies on immediate pressing after losing the ball, alongside a high defensive line. A striker who can lead the press from the front is a fundamental element of his system. Lewandowski's departure, at 37, has opened the way for the German coach to develop this aspect further.

The deals for Gordon and Adeyemi reveal Barcelona's priorities. Speed and the ability to move and press are not merely added bonuses but essential elements of the new project. This is precisely where the value of Álvarez emerges, a player who brings almost all of these qualities together in one man, alongside his fine ability from set pieces. The problem is that signing him looks almost impossible right now.

If we rule out Álvarez, Mikel Oyarzabal becomes one of the most logical options. The Real Sociedad striker has been central to Spain's recent golden era, and he knows the Barcelona players inside out. Chief among them are Yamal, Pedri and Olmo, alongside whom he has spent years in the national team ranks.

Goals and creativity define his game, along with an intelligence for pressing opposition defences. He scored 15 times in 30 La Liga starts last season, a return that shows he can deliver the attacking output required.

The deal is not without question marks. Oyarzabal is 29, and Real Sociedad are unlikely to sanction a departure for anything close to below his 75 million euro release clause. He has also spent his entire career with the Basque club. That raises a doubt over whether taking on a major new challenge at this stage of his career would suit him.

Lautaro Martínez offers another option with many of the qualities Barcelona want. The Inter Milan striker has ranked among the best support forwards in Europe for years, regularly clearing the 20-goal barrier across various competitions while posing a constant threat inside and outside the box.

The problem lies in the role he's grown used to. Lautaro has rarely led the line alone at Inter, where the Italian side have often fielded a second forward alongside him. Someone like Marcus Thuram or Edin Džeko takes on the target man duties and gives the Argentine more room to move.

With the ball, Lautaro can blend the instincts of a striker and an attacking midfielder into something intriguing. Without it, the picture changes. Adapting to Flick's system, with its relentless pressing, could prove a very different challenge for a 28-year-old whose style has been ingrained over many years.

Omar Marmoush would have made an attractive option for Barcelona, given his ability to play as an out-and-out striker, along with his high technical skills, his pace, his ability to press and his knack for scoring goals, according to the "ESPN" network.

The Egypt international possesses a set of qualities that clearly match Flick's requirements. Reports indicate, though, that he has entered advanced negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur, which makes a move to Barcelona a difficult option at present.

Barcelona, then, look obliged to widen their search rather than focus only on well-known names.

The problem is that most of the well-known strikers established at their major European clubs would cost Barcelona enormous sums. The solution may instead lie in finding a less famous player with characteristics similar to Álvarez.

Data from "Gradient Sports" allows a set of indicators tied to Álvarez's playing style to be compared, then used to hunt down players who come close to him in those areas. Georges Mikautadze stands out as one of the most intriguing names.

The Georgian striker has moved between Metz, Lyon and Villarreal over two years, and his eye-catching performances for his national team at Euro 2024 helped his stock rise sharply. Mikautadze delivered standout displays in his first season in the Spanish league, scoring 13 goals and providing 6 assists in a little over 2,000 minutes.

His strength does not lie only in finishing off attacks. He also boasts distinctive touches inside the box, along with a clear knack for creating chances and moving into the right spaces. The catch is his soaring value, with the release clause in his contract rising from 60 million euros to 76 million in mid-August.

That figure puts him close to the cost of Oyarzabal, yet Mikautadze holds one important edge: his age. At 25, he still has room to grow, which gives the deal greater value in the long term.

Sebastiano Esposito represents a different option. The former Inter Milan player was rated for years as a promising talent, but his career took him through eight loan spells that hampered his stability and development. His permanent move to Cagliari could mark a fresh start.

Last season Esposito played as a striker more inclined towards creating play within a forward pairing, scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists in the Italian league. He can drop back to receive the ball, then turn and burst forward or slide passes into the spaces, traits that echo aspects of Álvarez's style.

There is a problem off the pitch that must be weighed up. Cagliari hit the player with a disciplinary sanction this summer after he missed pre-season without permission, against the backdrop of a contractual dispute. It underlines a key factor in any signing: technical similarity alone is not enough to make a decision of this magnitude.

Should Barcelona fancy a bigger gamble, there are young names that could double as an investment for the future. Nicolo Tresoldi, 22, has long caught the eye of scouts with his displays for Belgian side Club Brugge.

His side lost winger Christos Tzolis to Arsenal for 40 million euros, yet Tresoldi remains a name held in high regard. He has an eye for goal, keeps the ball under pressure and brings his teammates into play.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 21, made his mark during 2026. He played an important role with Lille before joining the Belgium squad at the World Cup.

Beginning his career as a winger, he switched to an out-and-out striker when an injury crisis struck his team.

That spell revealed tremendous pace and a knack for exploiting spaces on the counter-attack, particularly away from home. He still needs to develop against compact defences and in tight spaces.

Even so, his physical qualities, pace and movement off the ball make him suited, in theory, to Flick's style. Atletico Madrid's interest may be no coincidence: the club could see in him a future version of Alvarez.

Hamza Abdelkarim remains the boldest option. The 18-year-old forward joined Barcelona's youth side on loan from Egypt's Al Ahly in February, before completing a permanent move this summer for 1.5 million euros.

Pre-season handed him a significant opportunity with the first team. A shortage of attacking options opened the door, and the performances he delivered convinced the coaching staff to keep relying on him.

Four goals during the preparation period earned Abdelkarim praise inside the club and across the Spanish media, making him a candidate to feature in the first-team squad next season.

Turning him into the main solution to the attacking problem would be an enormous risk. The talent is there and the potential looks promising. But placing the responsibility of leading Barcelona's attack for a full season on a player of this age would be an extremely difficult decision.

Barcelona's task does not look easy. The club want a striker who combines scoring, playmaking, pace, pressing and the ability to play in tight spaces. Those qualities made Álvarez the ideal choice, yet they also make finding an identical replacement almost impossible.

Oyarzabal looks the safest option. Lautaro offers great quality with some tactical question marks, while Marmoush represents a suitable choice but appears close to joining Tottenham.

Riskier solutions come from Georges Mikautadze and Esposito. Tresoldi and Fernández-Pardo represent an investment for the future, and Hamza Abdelkarim remains a young card who could be the surprise of the season.

With the transfer deadline approaching, Barcelona now face two clear options: pay a huge sum for a ready-made player, or take the risk on a less well-known talent who can come close to Álvarez's profile.

One thing is certain. Leaving the striker position without genuine reinforcement until January could be the most dangerous gamble of all for a team aspiring to compete for every title.