Barcelona Are Close to Finally Signing a Striker—But It’s Not the One They Wanted

Barcelona are reportedly details away from making 29-year-old Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus their highly-anticipated striker acquisition of the summer ... a far less glamorous option than the club originally hoped.

According to The Athletic, Hansi Flick is onboard with Barça taking advantage of a market opportunity that would see Jesus land at the Camp Nou for a fee worth close to $11.6 million (€10 million).

The Brazilian is expected to travel to Barcelona in the coming hours to undergo his routine medical checks and ink a two-year contract with an option to extend it for a further season, per Fabrizio Romano.

The Catalans needed to replenish their forward line following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, the club’s top options at striker during the Flick era. The two combined to score 40 goals a season ago.

Jesus joining the club no doubt addresses an area of need, but it’s far from the blockbuster signing at the position Barcelona had in mind when the summer started.

Jesus Signing Is Last Resort After Julián Alvarez Failure

Signing a center forward was Barcelona’s biggest priority of the summer transfer window—but not just any striker, an elite striker. Even before the summer started, Julián Alvarez was Barcelona’s main target. As the months progressed, it became clear the Argentine was their only target.

Barcelona claim they sent a $116 million (€100 million) bid for Álvarez in late May, an offer Atlético Madrid swiftly rejected. Ever since, Atléti publicly stated they had no plans to even entertain the forward’s transfer to Barça, a stance that didn’t change even after the player himself requested to leave.

But the Catalans never pivoted in search of other comparable alternatives to fill their striker need; they waited for a breakthrough in the Álvarez saga. It’s true that world class strikers don’t grow on trees and the ones that exist are rarely available in the transfer market. Yet, Barcelona didn’t even seriously try to test the waters elsewhere—outside from reported probes to assess the possibility of signing Chelsea’s João Pedro early in the summer, a move the Blues quickly shut down.

Not even Torres’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain in early August altered Barcelona’s strategy. There were no serious approaches for other center forwards in the aftermath, and with a week to go in the window, club president Joan Laporta was still publicly echoing Barça’s desire to land Alvarez. This prompted Atlético Madrid CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín to unleash on Barcelona, and double down on his stance that Atléti “won’t negotiate with Barcelona under any circumstance.”

With time running out in the window, Alvarez’s signing looked impossible. Now without a senior center forward in the squad, Barcelona have seemingly settled for Jesus on the cheap as their long-awaited striker reinforcement.

What Jesus Can Offer Barcelona

Gabriel Jesus fell down the striker pecking order at Arsenal. | Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images

Although there’s no denying that Jesus’s impending arrival feels somewhat underwhelming given the profile Barça were linked to, it’s also true that he adds depth at a position of need.

Injuries have tormented Jesus in recent years. After a promising start to his Arsenal career in 2022–23, he started suffering from constant knee issues until the big blow came in the form of an ACL tear early in 2025.

Jesus returned to the pitch last December, but he struggled for playing time with the eventual Premier League champions, falling behind Viktor Gyökeres and Kai Havertz in the striker depth chart. Arsenal looked to facilitate his exit this summer given he was entering the last year of his contract, and Barcelona appear to have benefited from the situation and grabbed the Brazilian on the cheap.

It’s a low risk, high reward move for the Catalans. Jesus is unlikely to secure a starting role in Flick’s XI, but if he can escape his fitness woes, he can be a valuable alternative off the bench. He’s not a target man up front like Lewandowski, but he’s technically gifted, can link up well with other attackers and also is known to be a contributor in pressing—something essential for Flick.

He adds a different profile to a Barça attack already rich in alternatives. It’s not the shiny new weapon the Catalans were looking for all summer, but for a bargain price and with minimal expectations, Jesus is a fine, practical signing at Barça’s thinnest position. He is the definition of a market opportunity.

Barcelona’s 2026–27 Attack Appears Set—Will it Suffice?

It appears Raphinha will be Barcelona’s primary center forward this season. | Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Barring any unexpected last minute deals, Barcelona’s incoming transfer business of the summer appears to be over. As the dust settles, Flick’s attack looks considerably different than it did during his first two seasons at the club.

Jesus joins natural wingers Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi as Barcelona’s notable attacking reinforcements, with the aforementioned Torres and Lewandowski gone. Jesus is the only traditional striker in the squad, with teenager Hamza Abdelkarim yet to make his official senior debut—and it’s unlikely the promising Egyptian plays a significant role this season.

Through two games in 2026–27, Raphinha has operated as the team's striker and already has three goals and one assist to his name. “He wears 11, but what a No. 9,” Barcelona wrote on social media with a picture of the Brazilian.

“As a No. 9, you always start the pressing,” Flick said when explaining his decision to deploy Raphinha at striker. “He’s doing this very good. And of course he is one of our leaders on the pitch, and everyone knows exactly when he starts the intensity, the dynamic, everyone is included.

La visión de Pedri y la clase de Raphinha ✨ #BarçaAthletic | #LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/Hi0osbphtm
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 28, 2026

“And of course, in front of the goal, he’s doing really fantastic and this is why he’s playing there. He can play there; it’s not a problem for him.”

Flick also stated Fermín López is another option at striker, plus Dani Olmo and Anthony Gordon have briefly led the line during Barça’s opening two games. Without a true center forward, the German boss is placing his faith on a more fluid and at times position-less attack headlined by versatile, energetic, speedy and technically sound forwards, who have a variety of ways to harm the opposition. So far it’s working; Barça have seven goals in two games.

Flick would have the option of deploying a more traditional attack with Jesus leading the line in his natural position. Yet, with Raphinha on this kind of form, he is the favorite to serve as Barça’s striker this season.

This attack, rich in variants and profiles, is more than capable of winning Barca’s third consecutive La Liga title come season’s end. But the team’s main objective is the Champions League, and although Barça are close to finally signing a striker, their lack of a devastating goalscorer at the No. 9 position could potentially be exposed in their quest to end an 11-year European title drought.

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