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What's the story?
Newly crowned LaLiga Champions Barcelona are reported to be looking at 32-year-old Girona striker Christian Stuani as a low-cost backup for their forward Luiz Suarez. Barca have struggled to find proper backup options for Suarez ever since the departures of Paco Alcacer to Dortmund and Munir el Haddadi to Sevilla, with Brazilian Malcom better suited as a false nine or inside forward than an out-and-out striker.
In case you didn't know...
32-year-old Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez has shown signs of age catching up to him this season, with his form faltering particularly in Champions League away games. He scored just 2 goals in 10 Champions League fixtures this season, and was largely invisible in the Champions League semi-final second leg where his former employers Liverpool dominated his team 4-0 to overturn a 3-0 first leg deficit and dump the Blaugrana out of the tournament.
Suarez however, has been instrumental in Barcelona's domestic dominance, scoring 21 goals and assisting 6 in LaLiga and contributing a further 3 goals in the Copa del Rey. He is currently the second highest top scorer in LaLiga behind Lionel Messi, who has 34 league goals to his name.
With one of the largest wage bills in European football (rumoured to be around € 378 million each financial year), Ernesto Valverde and the Barcelona management are reportedly on the lookout for an economical backup option for Suarez.
The heart of the matter
According to reports, Valverde is considering Girona and Uruguay striker Christian Stuani as a fallback option. Stuani has been the lone spark in an otherwise dismal season for Girona, his 19 goals in LaLiga still unable to keep the side from avoiding relegation.
Stuani is currently the 4th top scorer in the league, behind Messi (34), Suarez (21) and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema (21). Barcelona are reportedly considering a deal for the Uruguayan international for €7million, especially since another option in Eintracht Frankfurt's Luka Jovic has almost confirmed a move to arch-rivals Real Madrid.
What's next?
Barcelona face Eibar in their final LaLiga game tomorrow night at 7:45 PM IST. Valverde is likely to rest most of his star players as the Blaugrana go all in to grab a second consecutive domestic trouble by defeating Valencia in the Copa del Rey final, scheduled for 26th May.
