Julian Alvarez pursuit unaffected by Barcelona move for Gabriel Jesus | OneFootball

In the last few hours, it has been confirmed that Barcelona will sign Gabriel Jesus from reigning Premier League champions Arsenal. A €10m has been agreed between the two clubs, meaning that the Catalans will have a natural striker in Hansi Flick’s squad for the 2026-27 season.

It’s no secret that Barcelona have been chasing Julian Alvarez for the entire summer, but with a deal looking increasingly unlikely, the feeling among supporters is that they have pivoted to Jesus as their man striker target. However, this is not the case, with Cadena SER reporting that the pursuit of the Arsenal and Brazil centre forward is independent of the club’s plans to finally reach an agreement with Atletico Madrid for the Argentina international.

Barcelona see Jesus as the “Ferran Torres replacement”. The club were not comfortable with the prospect of going into the rest of the 2026-27 season without a recognised striker in Hansi Flick’s squad, which is why they have gone for this low-cost option. They still want Alvarez, but even if he doesn’t come, they have managed to bring in a number nine that can compete with Raphinha, Anthony Gordon and co.

Barcelona unfazed by Jesus injury record

One of the reasons that Barcelona fans have expressed doubts about Jesus is due to his injury record, which has been wretched in recent years. In particular, the 29-year-old has struggled with knee issues, which includes an ACL tear he sustained in January 2025. However, the club themselves are happy with his current condition, with a report from MD stating that they only see him short on match sharpness – which makes sense considering he has yet to feature for Arsenal this season.

It will be interesting to see how Jesus gets on at Barcelona, but the club will hope that he is not the only striker to arrive before the transfer window closes next week.