Barcelona Identifies Bundesliga's 'New Cristiano Ronaldo' As Erling Haaland Fallback: Report

Barcelona might already be working on bringing a Cristiano Ronaldo-like player to Camp Nou.

It's widely known that the pandemic has caused La Liga clubs financial constraints. Barcelona is believed to be over €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in debt at the moment, but the Catalans are still linked to an array of massive potential transfers this summer, including the pursuit of Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland.

Barca’s new president Joan Laporta is said to be “determined” to sign Haaland and has already spoken with several people, including the Norwegian’s agent, Mino Raiola. But as the Haaland deal hangs, Barcelona has now earmarked a potential fallback in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Andre Silva, German outlet Bild reported.

The report said that Silva could be on the market this summer for €40 million ($47 million). The said figure is quite a problem given Barca’s current financial situation, but the report adds that Laporta might be able to negotiate a deal with his “good friend” and Silva’s agent, Jorge Mendes.

Eintracht Frankfurt, on the other hand, is likely to be willing to let Silva go if an enticing bid comes as the Bundesliga side’s top “priority,” per the report, is to keep Luka Jovic, who was loaned back to Frankfurt by Real Madrid.

Silva has proven that he is also on the same footing as Haaland, having notched a whopping 21 goals in 24 Bundesliga games to date. His fine form saw him being likened to his Portugal side co-star and compatriot Ronaldo.

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman, meanwhile, has decided not to discuss anything about Haaland at the moment. According to the Barca coach, he ought to “focus” on his players.

"Haaland? This is not a time to talk about a player who is not ours out of respect for his club," Koeman told a press conference ahead of their Real Sociedad game last weekend. "There is talk of signings but I don't like it and I need to focus on tomorrow's game and the players we have."

"We'll talk in the next few weeks on where we can improve but I will not respond to players who are not ours," he added.

Apart from Silva, Barcelona is also linked to a transfer swoop for another prolific striker. The Catalans may be considering signing Inter Milan star Romelu Lukaku, Italian publication Calciomercato reported.

The report further noted that Barca is likely to face competition from Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United should the club decide to really go after Lukaku.