Barcelona Targets Gyokeres as Alvarez Deal Stalls

Barcelona’s hunt for a new No. 9 is starting to feel like a race against the clock. With the Julian Alvarez pursuit stuck in neutral, the Catalan club are now lining up Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres as a serious alternative.

According to journalist Jose Alvarez Haya, movement around Gyokeres is expected in the coming hours, with Barcelona ready to probe the Swedish forward’s situation at the Emirates. The interest has sharpened since Ferran Torres’ departure, which has left the squad light in the forward line.

Julian Alvarez, though, remains the dream signing. Barcelona have built their search around the Argentine, but they have run into a brick wall. Atletico Madrid, who see Alvarez as central to their own plans, have refused to even sit at the negotiating table with a direct domestic rival. No talks, no price, no opening.

That stance has forced Barcelona to widen the net. Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan and Sporting Lisbon’s Luis Suarez both surfaced as potential options last week, only for those trails to cool quickly. The market is tight, the time frame even tighter.

So Gyokeres has stepped into the frame.

Reports in Spain suggest Barcelona will now make concrete moves to assess how Arsenal view the 26‑year‑old and whether a deal is even remotely feasible this late in the window. For now, this is contingency planning, not a full pivot. The club have not walked away from Alvarez, but they cannot afford to be left without a centre-forward if Atletico’s hard line holds until deadline day.

Gyokeres under the microscope after mixed first year at Arsenal

Gyokeres arrived at Arsenal last summer in a deal worth around €70 million, his reputation inflated by a devastating spell at Sporting Lisbon where he bullied defences and piled up goals. In England, the story has been more nuanced.

He closed the 2025-26 season with 21 goals in all competitions. On paper, that is a solid return for a debut campaign in the Premier League. On the pitch, though, his form swung in patches. The explosive, relentless scorer who terrorised Portuguese defences did not always appear with the same regularity in North London.

There were stretches when Gyokeres lost his status as an automatic starter, his place in the XI questioned as Arsenal searched for sharper, more consistent cutting edge. Those doubts have not erased his value, but they have opened the door to speculation about his future.

Now Barcelona are watching closely. If Atletico Madrid refuse to budge on Alvarez, the Catalans may be forced to test Arsenal’s resolve and bet that Gyokeres, with the right role and service, can rediscover the dominance he showed in Lisbon.