Barcelona’s No. 9 Hunt: Tresoldi as a Serious Alternative

Barcelona will not leave this transfer window without a new centre-forward. Inside the club, the message is blunt: a No. 9 will arrive, and the preferred name remains Julián Álvarez.

There is strong belief at Barça that Álvarez will eventually force his way out of Atlético Madrid, with the Argentine determined to change scenery. But the clock is ticking, negotiations are complex, and the sporting department cannot afford to wait blindly. So a parallel track is already in motion.

One of the names gaining weight on that list: Nicolo Tresoldi.

Tresoldi, the breakout striker on Barça’s radar

Reports in England, echoed by SPORT, place Nicolo Tresoldi among the forwards Barcelona are monitoring closely. The 21-year-old was the revelation of the Belgian league last season and finished as Club Brugge’s top scorer.

He is not just a local sensation. Tresoldi is already a Germany U-21 international and has drawn firm interest this summer from Premier League clubs and AS Roma. Those approaches have stalled at one point: Club Brugge’s price. The Belgian side are asking for more than €40 million, and so far no one has gone high enough to move him.

Barcelona, though, have done their homework. The club already hold full information on the conditions of a possible transfer and have made initial contact with the player’s camp. They have not yet advanced to formal negotiations, but the file is active. Scouts have been working on his profile in recent days, convinced he is one of the most intriguing young centre-forwards currently within reach on the market.

Hansi Flick knows him well from Germany’s youth national teams. The Barça coach has excellent internal reports and is fully aware of how Tresoldi has evolved over the last two seasons, and how high his ceiling might be.

A striker who has already hurt Barcelona

Inside the club, nobody needs a long explanation about who Tresoldi is. They have already suffered him.

Last season, in the Champions League, Tresoldi scored against Barcelona in a wild 3-3 draw, tormenting the Blaugrana back line with his movement and presence in the box. That night left a mark.

Club Brugge, for their part, are known as tough negotiators. Barça experienced it first-hand in the deal for Jesse Bisiwu. The Belgian club will not fold easily and will push hard on the fee. At the same time, there is realism in Bruges: if a top-level club comes in with a serious offer, keeping Tresoldi will be extremely complicated.

The numbers back that up. Last season he delivered 24 goals in all competitions, carrying a big share of Brugge’s attacking load and producing several standout performances in key matches.

Why Tresoldi fits – and why he’s a risk

From a tactical point of view, Tresoldi ticks many of the boxes Barça are looking for in a No. 9.

He links well with teammates, reads combinations in tight spaces, and is especially effective against deep defensive blocks – exactly the kind of scenario Barcelona face week after week in La Liga. Inside the area he is a sharp finisher, quick to attack loose balls and clever in his movement between centre-backs.

He is not, yet, a dribbling specialist. Beating men one-on-one is not the strongest part of his game, something the technical staff are fully aware of. But they see enough in his off-the-ball work, his timing and his finishing to believe he could grow into the role.

That is where the doubt lies. Tresoldi is not a finished product. Signing him now would mean paying a significant fee for potential, not certainty. At more than €40 million, that becomes a calculated gamble for a club still walking a financial tightrope.

Álvarez still Plan A – but Plan B is taking shape

Inside the sporting department, the hierarchy is clear. Julián Álvarez remains Plan A for Hansi Flick and Deco. The club continue to work with the explicit objective of bringing the Argentine to Montjuïc, convinced he can step straight in as a top-level starter.

But the market rarely bends perfectly to a single plan. If the Álvarez operation stalls or collapses under financial or negotiating pressure, Barcelona cannot be left exposed.

So they wait. They push on Álvarez, while quietly building out a Plan B. Tresoldi sits firmly on that second track, one of several options under serious consideration as the window moves towards its decisive weeks.

Barcelona know they need goals. The only real question now is whether they will pay for a proven star in Álvarez, or bet big on the next one in Tresoldi.