Barcelona Come Up With ‘Affordable’ Plan B To Haaland: Report

Getty Erling Haaland celebrates scoring for Dortmund.

Barcelona continue to be linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund goal machine Erling Haaland but have come up with a Plan B in case they fail to land the Norway international in the summer transfer window.

Haaland remains Barcelona’s “dream” summer signing, but the club’s difficult financial situation means the striker may be out of reach, as reported by Javier Gascon at Mundo Deportivo. Barca’s ‘Plan B’ if that does prove the case is Fiorentina’s highly-rated center-forward Dusan Vlahovic.

Haaland is thought to have a release clause in his contract set at €75 million that can be activated in summer 2022. The striker would also command a high salary and has also attracted the attention of clubs in the Premier League as well as Real Madrid.

Vlahovic would be a “less complex and less expensive” option for Barcelona. The 21-year-old’s contract expires in 2023 which puts suitors in a strong position when it comes to negotiating a price.

The youngster scored 21 goals in Serie A last season for Fiorentina and already has 16 in just 19 appearances in the league so far in the 2021-22 campaign. Indeed Vlahovic’s record in 2021 makes for seriously impressive reading, as shown by Gracenote Live.

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Laporta Met With Haaland Agent

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has a good relationship with Haaland’s agent, Mino Raiola, and the two met in Italy at the start of December 2021, as reported by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Raiola has since claimed that Barcelona are one of several clubs who could sign Haaland, despite the Catalan giants’ well-documented financial problems. He told Sport1 that Barca are in the runing along with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City.

“Maybe this summer, maybe the summer after. But there is a big chance that Erling will leave this summer. We will see,” he said. “He can and will take the next step. Bayern, Real, Barcelona, City – these are the big clubs he can go to. City have won the championship five times in the last few years, much more than United. “We all knew when we moved to Dortmund that this step would come.”

Haaland has continued his prolific form for Dortmund this season to remain one of Europe’s most-wanted players. The striker has scored 13 goals in just 11 Bundesliga appearances and three in three Champions League outings.

Vlahovic Rejects Fiorentina Extension

Meanwhile, the likelihood of Vlahovic moving on from Fiorentina has increased, as the striker has rejected the offer of a new contract with the Serie A side. Club owner Rocco Commisso has confirmed Vlahovic rejected the chance to become Fiorentina’s highest-paid player, as reported by 90min.

“I would therefore like to update the Fiorentina fans on an issue that has been much talked and spoken about in recent months – the question of Dusan Vlahovic’s contract. As you know, Fiorentina made a very significant offer to the player. Our proposal would have made him the highest paid player in the history of the club, ” he wrote in a letter to fans. “We also improved our offer on a number of occasions in order to accommodate the requests of both Dusan and his entourage. However, despite our efforts, those offers have not been accepted.”

Vlahovic’s goalscoring exploits mean he’s unlikely to lack for offers to leave Fiorentina, although Barca may struggle to compete financially if a bidding war for the 21-year-old were to break out.

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