Barcelona could enter negotiations to sign 30-year-old Al Ittihad target – Report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona’s search for a future No. 9 keeps throwing up different kinds of solutions, and Serhou Guirassy is one who makes more sense than many fans might first assume. He is not the glamorous long-term fantasy name, but he is proven, sharp in the box and much more realistic than some of the club’s dream targets.

For a club in a precarious financial situation, a player like Guirassy could be the perfect trade-off: a striker who would not cost an excessive fee, yet would still bring a proven track record of goals.

According to SPORT, Barcelona could move into the race for Guirassy even as Al Ittihad push for the striker. The Saudi club are concerned that the Catalan side could leapfrog them in the race for the Borussia Dortmund marksman.

Guirassy is now 30, so this would not be a signing built around a decade of planning. It would be a move designed to solve a problem quickly and effectively, especially with Robert Lewandowski moving deeper into the final phase of his career.

There is also a football reason to take the idea seriously. Guirassy has built a reputation as one of Europe’s most efficient penalty-box forwards, and his recent scoring record at club level has been outstanding.

This team often create enough chances, but there are still matches in which a more ruthless central striker would make life easier. Guirassy is not a stylistic copy of Lewandowski, but he offers the same basic promise: goals, presence and instinct inside the area.

The dilemma is age and planning. Barca have to decide whether spending on a 30-year-old is smart squad building or merely a short-term patch. That question matters even more when the club still dream of younger marquee forwards for the future.

Ideally, if Lewandowski agrees to stay on for another season, the Catalan club need to look at a much younger developmental option who can be mentored by the Pole. Alternatively, should Lewandowski leave, the option of Guirassy becomes very appealing.

We will have to wait and see how this transfer saga plays out in the coming months.