Barcelona interested in Chelsea duo as alternatives to Erling Haaland

With reports emerging that Barcelona’s top summer transfer target, Erling Haaland, is closing in on a move to Manchester City, the Catalan giants are looking for alternatives in the market.

The 21-year-old Norwegian has been at the top of the shopping list for the club. But, signing him was always going to be difficult because of the finances involved as well as the competition in his pursuit.

And with reports claiming that Manchester City have become the frontrunners, it would bode well for Barça to line up alternatives for the Borussia Dortmund hitman. There have been links to Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, while the likes of Alexander Isak and Lautaro Martinez are also being looked at.

Now, Mundo Deportivo runs a headline on their cover page for Saturday, claiming that Barcelona are also looking at Chelsea duo Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner as potential alternatives for Haaland.

Lukaku was one of the most prolific strikers in Europe at the onset of the 2021/22 season. After having led Inter Milan to the Serie A title last term, the Belgian returned to Chelsea for a second stint in a deal worth near €115 million, but the move has backfired spectacularly.

The 28-year-old has scored just five goals in 18 Premier League outings and has fallen behind Kai Havertz in the pecking order.

With Lukaku not looking a good fit into Thomas Tuchel’s setup, and Chelsea finding themselves in a mess after Roman Abramovich’s sanctions by the UK Government, a sale could be considered.

The same goes for Timo Werner as well, who was Chelsea’s marquee signing of 2020, arriving from RB Leipzig. But the German, too, has struggled to get going at Stamford Bridge, scoring just 19 goals in 78 matches for the Blues, only one of which has come in the Premier League this term (13 games).

Both players are quality operators, but have not gelled in well with the system currently utilised by Chelsea. A change of scenery could bring the best out of Lukaku and Werner, and whether Barcelona offer either of them an escape route in the summer remains to be seen.