Barcelona Looking to the Future as Catalans Eye Long-Term Replacements for Luis Suarez
Barcelona are understood to be preparing for life after Luis Suarez and are looking at a number of potential candidates to replace the striker - including RB Leipzig's Timo Werner and Inter's Lautaro Martinez.
Suarez, 31, continues to impress at the Camp Nou, having scored a devastating hat-trick in the 5-1 destruction of Real Madrid in last weekend's El Clásico. But the Uruguayan striker is not getting any younger, and although there are no indications that he will be leaving any time soon, it's understood that the Catalan giants have begun discussions over finding a long-term replacement.
A report published by Marca has named a handful of players the club are looking at as a heir to his throne, with young starlets Werner and Martinez among them.
Suarez' 158 goals in 212 games since joining in 2014 will not be easily replaced but Werner, at just 22, is slowly but surely becoming one of the Bundesliga's most consistent marksmen.
He, along with Martinez - who only joined Inter in the summer - are considered to be the two more ambitious options, while Krzysztof Piatek of Genoa, in whom Barça have had a long-standing rumoured interest, remains their main target.
He's scored 13 goals in 11 appearances for Genoa so far this season, and among a slew of attractive attributes, it is thought he wouldn't cost a great deal. His wage demands would likely be among the lower echelons of the Barça squad - something the club have reportedly taken into consideration.
Other names include Lille's Nicolas Pepe, and Paco Alcacer, who is currently on loan at Dortmund, and while the latter is thought to be wanted by the Germans on a permanent basis, Barça believe he would be open to a Camp Nou return if first team football was on offer.
Suarez is understood to be comfortable regarding the speculation and accepts that it's normal for the club to be looking elsewhere at this stage in his career, even hinting that it's something they should be actively doing.
