5 alternative forwards Barcelona can target after failing to sign Nico Williams
Nico Williams will not be joining Barcelona this summer. The highly-rated Spain international has just committed his future to his boyhood club Athletic Bilbao by signing a new long-term contract extension with a much higher release clause.
It had appeared that the 22-year-old attacker was destined to join his close friend Lamine Yamal in Catalonia but financial issues over registering him have put the kibosh on that. Now Barcelona will have to look elsewhere if they’re to bolster their forward options this summer.
We’ve identified five forwards that Barcelona can target as an alternative to Nico Williams.
Marcus Rashford
Still out of favour at Manchester United, Rashford has been fluttering his eyelashes in Barcelona’s direction for a while now. He’s made it quite clear where he’d like to end up.
“Yeah, for sure, Everybody in the world wants to play with the best,” Rashford said of the prospect of linking up with Lamine Yamal, speaking with Spanish YouTube channel xBuyer
“Hopefully … We’ll see.”
Noises from Barcelona’s end haven’t been quite as loud.
Let’s see how this one plays out. Given Barcelona’s financial difficulties, you can’t imagine them matching Manchester United’s asking price – or his sky-high wages.
But the England international would reportedly take a pay cut, such is his desperation to kickstart his career away from Old Trafford.
Watch this space. Something’s got to give, but a game of transfer chicken could run until the final days of the window.
Karim Adeyemi
“You never know where the path will lead, what life will bring, but for now, everything is good here,” Adeyemi recently told reporters during Borussia Dortmund’s Club World Cup campaign.
It doesn’t exactly sound as though the boyhood Dortmund fan is itching to leave right now, but never say never.
The lightning-fast forward has an interesting history under Hansi Flick, having been handed his first international appearances under the current Barca boss. But he failed to play a single minute at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after being brought along as a squad option.
Adeyemi just offered a reminder of his quality with two quickfire assists for Serhou Guirassy in Dortmund’s Club World Cup victory over Monterrey. Produce something special in the quarter-final against Real Madrid and Barcelona might just find him irresistible.
Alejandro Garnacho
The second forward thrown on the scrapheap by Ruben Amorim, we’d be amazed if Garnacho is still at Manchester United in 2025-26.
Chelsea, Napoli and Atletico Madrid have all been linked with the Argentina international, but Barcelona also find themselves on the market for a new forward.
Like Williams, he predominantly plays on the left but also has experience on the other flank, and that versatility could prove particularly handy as Barcelona look for someone to deputise for both Yamal and Raphinha.
Luis Diaz
Fabrizio Romano reports that Barcelona are planning a “new approach” for the Colombian winger after failing to land Williams.
Liverpool held firm, and have since rebuffed an approach from Bayern Munich, but Diaz’s situation at Anfield is a bit perplexing; it doesn’t sound as though he’ll be signing a new deal anytime soon.
You could see Diaz suiting Barcelona’s play style, and he might even do a job as a makeshift centre-forward, but it’ll be difficult for Barcelona to match Liverpool’s asking price.
Hakim Ziyech
Now we’re onto the bargain bin.
After failing to pull up any trees at Chelsea, the Moroccan winger hasn’t done a great deal at Galatasaray and Qatari outfit Al-Duhail. Now he’s a free agent.
It was only two years ago that he was strongly tipped to join Barcelona but that feels a long time ago now. His signing certainly wouldn’t set any pulses racing now, that’s for sure.
But as a cut-price squad-filler option (available on a free with presumably reasonable wage demands) with a point to prove, it wouldn’t be the worst signing in the world.
Spending big on a player that’d surely be behind Raphinha and Yamal in the pecking order probably wouldn’t be the wisest allocation of their limited resources.
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