Barcelona joy as PSG choose their Messi replacement

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 Apr 2023 10:27 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona’s hopes of landing Lionel Messi in the summer have been given a boost with the news that PSG have selected a transfer target to replace the World Cup winner.

According to Le Parisien, the Parc des Princes club are ready to make a move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane.

Kane, 29, is the priority of PSG for the summer transfer market, according to French source, with club bosses confident that he will have no problems adapting to the Ligue 1 leaders, where it is believed that his style will fit perfectly with that of Kylian Mbappe.

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Harry Kane to PSG?

There are numerous factors pointing to this deal becoming a reality, with Kane’s contract at Tottenham up in 2024.

There have been noises that he would like to leave the club since an interview prior to Euro 2020, in which he intimated that he wanted to be playing on a big stage on a regular basis. If he is to leave Spurs during his career, this would therefore appear to be a natural stopping off point.

His options, though, are limited. Tottenham are unlikely to sell to a direct Premier League rival, like Manchester United or Chelsea, while Barca or Real Madrid cannot afford him. Bayern Munich hold an interest but are unlikely to match the asking price of the English club, who will demand upwards of €100 million for the striker.

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Meanwhile, PSG will seek to take advantage of a strong relationship between the clubs to broker a deal, and while they are said to be confident an agreement can be struck, they appreciate this mission remains a difficult one.

Les Parisiens are also monitoring the situation of Romelu Lukaku, with Chelsea known to be eager to offload the Belgium international forward after a failed loan spell with Inter.

All this is good news for Barcelona, who are seeking to lure Messi, who is out of contract in June, when he will become a free agent, back to Camp Nou. The chief stumbling block, however, appears to be the club’s ability to raise finances for the deal.