Barcelona could be on the hook to pay Robert Lewandowski, who will be 36 when the 2024/25 LaLiga season begins, 30 million euros in each of the next couple of seasons due to a clause that means his contract after 2024/25 will automatically renew.
Xavi and other Barcelona decision-makers are growing to regret the 50 million euro signing from Bayern Munich, even as anyone can attest to his importance to the club’s title-winning 2022/23 campaign and his continued quality this season with 17 goals and 8 assists.
The thing is, Lewandowski has been prone to slumps since arriving in Barcelona and is clearly not the same player he was when he was breaking records at Bayern Munich – records Harry Kane will probably surpass.
There are younger strikers in European football who are actually outperforming Lewandowski right now and, better yet, are financially achievable for the cash-strapped Barcelona.
Here are three such options for the Blaugrana to target in the summer 2024 transfer window, should they find a legitimate suitor for the high-earning Lewandowski.
Serhou Guirassy, Stuttgart
With a 17.5 million euro release clause, Serhou Guirassy should be one of the most coveted transfer bargains on the market this summer, as he has just helped lead Stuttgart to a Champions League berth next season.
Guirassy was good for Die Schwaben last season, saving them from relegation, but he has been outright outrageous this season, scoring goals at a Lewandowski-esque pace in the Bundesliga.
The Guinean has found the back of the net 26 times in league play this season, which is actually the same number of goals as PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Guirassy has scored these goals in just 24 starts, averaging 1.9 key passes and 2.0 fouls drawn per game to prove that he can create chances and hold up play, in addition to having a great box presence.
This is a guy who could flirt with 10 assists or more on a team like Barcelona with players like Pedri, Gavi, and Lamine Yamal surrounding him.
Lois Openda, RB Leipzig
The Bundesliga are always good for talented strikers, and Lois Openda is another young player worth watching closely; he’s been firing home plenty of goals for RB Leipzig, holding off top young talent Benjamin Sesko for starts.
A new signing from Lens, Openda scored 21 goals last season and 19 the year before that for Vitesse in the Netherlands. He’s been even better in 2023/24 with a whopping 24 goals for RB Leipzig, making him one of Europe’s most prolific scorers.
Dangerous all around, the 24-year-old Openda averages 1.8 fouls drawn and 1.1 key passes per game to provide similar creative abilities. He would be a brilliant signing for Barcelona and is already outscoring Lewandowski and nearly matching him with 7 assists of his own, too.
Artem Dovbyk, Girona
Within LaLiga, Girona star Artem Dovbyk has been more impressive than Robert Lewandowski and should be on the radar of quite a few clubs in European football, including Barcelona themselves.
The Blaugrana can see firsthand that Dovbyk has been a superior goal-scorer with 20 goals, and the big Ukrainian has, like Openda, nearly matched Lewandowski with seven assists, too.
Dovbyk is an affordable, borderline world-class target who has been LaLiga’s best goal-scorer this season, clearing Real Madrid attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham. The 26-year-old looks like a better striker right now than Lewandowski in the same league.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.