Barcelona’s ‘Plan B’ Striker Option Agrees To Join Catalans

FC Barcelona has already contacted the entourage of a striker which is its 'Plan B' should a pursuit for Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez fail according to Jijantes and SPORT, which cited anonymous sources. Getty Images FC Barcelona has already contacted the entourage of a striker which is its 'Plan B' should a pursuit for Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez fail according to Jijantes and SPORT, which cited anonymous sources. According to some local media outlets in the Valencia region, Villarreal’s Georges Mikautadze has already agreed to join the Catalans after Sporting Director Deco reached out to his representatives. The Georgian fits the kind of profile of an attacker that Barça seeks following the departure of Robert Lewandowski to the Chicago Fire amid Ferran Torres’ pending exit. Paris Saint-Germain looks set to pay €50 million in fixed money plus a further €5 million in bonuses meaning the Blaugrana can recoup the full €55 million it agreed to pay Manchester City for the scorer of Spain’s World Cup-winning goal. Mikautadze would certainly come a lot cheaper than Julian, who reportedly agreed to join Barça ahead of Atletico Madrid turning down a €100 million bid for the Argentine. Villarreal agreed €31 million plus €5 more in variables for him with Lyon not even a year ago in September 2025. Though granted his stock will have risen after 13 goals in 32 goals in 13 appearances last term, and he will now come more expensive to an interested party. Something between €60 million and €65 million is believed to be the Yellow Submarine’s asking price, though Alvarez remains the prime target for Deco and Hansi Flick while Mikautadze would be more of a second string option. Barcelona isn’t giving up on trying to land Alvarez Some Culers are wondering when Barca should call it a day and move on. We were meant to see big developments in the transfer saga after Alvarez reported for preseason and held showdown talks with Diego Simeone. As the Atleti manager signalled in comments made from Seoul, however, it seems that the club from the Spanish capital are adamant it won’t sell to Barcelona. In the meantime, other names such as Lautaro Martinez have emerged as alternatives to Alvarez, alongside Mikautadze. This article was originally published on Forbes.com