Why Barca are likelier to land Cavani than Torres

Robin Bairner

• 8 Dec 2021 12:21 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona’s hunt for a striker will be the main priority of head coach Xavi during the January transfer window.

Regardless of whether Barca progress in the Champions League, it is evident that they need more firepower.

Their weakness in attack has been most starkly exposed in Europe, though. Two goals in five Champions League matches is an awful return, and unless there is a miracle against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, they will finish with one of the worst offensive records in the competition.

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Memphis Depay, signed as a winger, has misfired, while Sergio Aguero and Martin Braithwaite have been injured. Luuk de Jong, meanwhile, is simply unsuitable.

Barcelona, then, have been linked with January moves for Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani and Manchester City’s Ferran Torres.

Who will Barcelona sign in January?

There is no guarantee they will get either, but Cavani is a far likelier prospect than the Spain international.

Torres, quite simply, is virtually unattainable for Barcelona. Although Mundo Deportivo reports that the clubs are €15 million apart in their valuations of the player, Barca were never likely to be able to secure him for the €45m they were apparently offering.

What’s more, the players were willing to give Man City in part exchange – cast offs such as Philippe Coutinho or Samuel Umtiti – were never going to attract one of the finest clubs in the world.

Cavani, though, is more of a possibility. The Uruguayan wants more regular first-team football, having been promised it at the start of the season by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before the dramatic swoop for Cristiano Ronaldo that meant the former PSG striker became surplus to requirements.

Even for Cavani, though, there are no guarantees for Barca. He commands a large wage and it has previously been reported that his wish last summer was to move to Argentina, where he could be closer to his family.

Although Cavani is likelier to move to Barcelona than Torres, a left-field option from elsewhere still looks like the most probable solution to the club’s scoring woes.