Barcelona are reportedly looking at Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus should they fail in their pursuits of Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski.
Barca brought in a striker in January in the form of ex-Arsenal man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has hit the ground running in Spain.
16 Conclusions: Liverpool beat Man City in FA Cup semi-final
However, the Spanish giants are reportedly keen on bringing in another forward in the summer as they look to bounce back to title contention.
Bayern Munich forward Lewandowski has been linked as he enters the final year of his contract and he is reportedly keen on trying a new challenge after years of domination in Germany.
Another Bundesliga striker, Haaland, is also expected to leave Germany this summer with the Borussia Dortmund man heavily linked with Manchester City.
If City were to get the Norwegian in the summer, that could impact Jesus’ playing time at the Etihad, and potentially lead to a move for the Brazilian.
Jesus has struggled for game time this season despite the departure of club legend Sergio Aguero last summer, with manager Pep Guardiola often choosing to deploy a false nine ahead of Jesus.
The likes of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling have all been used in a central role by the City boss, with many of Jesus’ minutes coming from wide areas.
If City were to sign a new striker in the summer, Jesus could be allowed to leave and Marca (via CaughtOffside) are reporting that whilst Lewandowski and Haaland are the main targets, they could be forced to settle for a cheaper alternative.
They report that Jesus could be available for around €30million.
Meanwhile, in the wake of City’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool, Danny Murphy has admitted it came as no surprise to him that they made defensive errors at Wembley.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Murphy said: “The call to play Zack Steffen in only his fourth City match of the year was the key selection decision at Wembley. It’s no reflection on Steffen’s ability but more the circumstances of the game.
“Whereas Jurgen Klopp was able to put Caoimhin Kelleher behind Liverpool’s regular back-four in the Carabao Cup final, Steffen was an extra change City didn’t need without Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte.
“Steffen lined up with only one of City’s first-choice defenders, Joao Cancelo, and even he had to slot in at right-back after playing on the left most of the season.
“So it’s no surprise there was less cohesion than usual and that might have contributed to the American completely throwing away an early goal by taking a poor touch in front of Sadio Mane.”
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