Barcelona striker search down to 4 names - reports

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Willian José, Ángel Rodríguez, Lucas Pérez and Loren Morón

Willian José, Ángel Rodríguez, Lucas Pérez and Loren Morón are the names Barcelona has in mind to replace the injured Ousmane Dembélé, who has been confirmed to be out for six months. This comes after a long-term injury was confirmed for another forward, Luis Suárez.

The Catalans will be able to sign an emergency replacement outside the transfer window due to a long-term injury, but they are only allowed to pick a player playing in Spain and he may only play domestic competitions.

One report had said Barça had agreed terms with Real Sociedad for José, although a later report from Mundo Deportivo contradicted it. This latest report said both clubs denied an agreement. Apparently, Barcelona had asked for him in the transfer window, but he was deemed too costly at around 35 million euro.

Getafe forward Ángel is said to be the player who best fits due to his relatively low cost (9 million) and quality. This report from ESPN says José and Pérez, who plays for Deportivo Alavés, are liked by Barça, but both are deemed too costly at the time and their clubs won’t budge.

Thus, apart from Ángel, Morón is an option. Quique Setién knows him from his time at Real Betis, although he reportedly was disappointed in him in their second year together. On the other hand, he is having a good season so far and his physical power might be what Barça want.

Barcelona were said to have discarded a lot of these players during the transfer window, thinking that they would not be worth the trouble. After Dembélé’s injury, things changed. Still, the blaugrana are said to only have a 12 million budget for the signing.

Source: barcablaugranes.com