Given Atlético de Madrid’s firm stance on Julián Álvarez, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona is considering physical and direct options to succeed a Robert Lewandowski who is running out of time.

Alexander Sorloth, Vedat Muriqi and the young Fisnik Asllani emerge as tactical alternatives prioritizing box presence and aerial dominance over associative play.

Unlike previous years, the board is seeking profiles that provide solutions against low blocks, with prices ranging from 20 to 40 million euros.

FC Barcelona is in a race against the clock to secure the future of its offense; Robert Lewandowski remains a world class reference, but his veteran status forces Deco and the sporting management to find a replacement urgently. While the primary desire is Julián Álvarez, financial reality and Atlético de Madrid’s refusal to negotiate their star at a bargain price have activated a “Plan B” which, far from being a desperate measure, responds to a specific tactical need from Hansi Flick: bolstering the attack with tall and physically powerful forwards.

Sorloth and Muriqi: The LaLiga tanks

The first option on the table is Alexander Sorloth: with 10 goals this season and a 56.8% success rate in aerial duels, the Norwegian represents the classic center forward who can unlock games through direct play. His price, estimated between 20 and 30 million euros, makes him an affordable option, although there are doubts about his fit in Flick’s dynamic pressing system. On the other hand, Vedat Muriqi appears, who with 21 goals ranks as the league’s second highest scorer, trailing only Mbappé. At 31, the Kosovar is pure physical presence (6.4 aerial duels per game) and could leave Mallorca for less than his 40 million euro clause, especially if the club fails to avoid relegation.

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Fisnik Asllani: The bet on potential

Closing the list is Fisnik Asllani, the high-potential project from TSG Hoffenheim. At 23, the 1.88m attacker combines unusual technique for his height with an associative capacity that has allowed him to record 9 goals and 6 assists in the Bundesliga. Unlike Sorloth and Muriqi, Asllani is a modern forward who is not afraid to drop deep to combine, though his lack of elite experience and high price (nearly 30 million euros) pose a risk for the Blaugrana entity, which would be paying more for his ceiling than his immediate reality.

Tactical evolution under Flick

Flick’s system requires a striker capable of leading the counter press and winning constant individual duels. Including these profiles on Barcelona’s agenda suggests a paradigm shift: the club is no longer just looking for “playmakers” with a low profile, but wants to regain that physical strength often missing when Lewandowski is unavailable. Any of these three names would provide a necessary variation to punish opponents who sit deep, marking the path of a tactical evolution where power and height are once again protagonists at the Camp Nou.