Barcelona plan to sell veteran superstar next summer, will install teenage whizkid as first-choice

It has been an indifferent start to the 2023/24 season for Barcelona superstar Robert Lewandowski thus far.

After spearheading the team to the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup titles last season, the 35-year-old Polish international has found going tough so far in the new campaign.

Indeed, Lewandowski has endured one of his worst starts to a season ever in his illustrious career, with his performances, especially in some of the recent matches, raising concerns.

Barcelona plan to sell Lewandowski in the summer

Amidst this, journalist Jose Alvarez of El Chiringuito TV has claimed that Barcelona are planning on selling Lewandowski in the summer transfer window of 2024.

The idea is for the Blaugrana to offload the veteran striker and get rid of his salary so that salary space can be made for a ‘superstar’ signing.

And if Lewandowski is sold, the reigning La Liga champions plan on installing Vitor Roque as their first-choice striker starting next season itself.

As mentioned earlier, the 35-year-old has endured a poor start to the season compared to the lofty standards he has set for himself.

Given his poor run, Xavi pushed Barça to bring Vitor Roque to the club in the January transfer window itself. The idea had been for the teenager to shadow Lewandowski and for the latter to mentor the youngster until he is ready to take over.

But now, the club are weighing up the idea of permanently offloading Lewandowski in the summer and installing the teenage whizkid as their first-choice striker from next season.

Considering that he is one of the players with a salary at the higher end of the scale and that clubs in Saudi Arabia are interested in signing him, offloading the Pole would make sense for the Blaugrana from a financial point of view.

Much would depend on how Lewandowski performs for the rest of the season and what state Barcelona find themselves in the summer as far as their economic situation is concerned.

But, getting rid of Lewandowski permanently and putting full trust in Roque could be a risky move considering the latter’s lack of experience in European football and the elite level.