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Barcelona: Is Paco Alcacer a good fit?

By Moussa Traore

VALENCIA, SPAIN - JANUARY 03: Paco Alcacer of Valencia celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at Estadi de Mestalla on January 03, 2016 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN - JANUARY 03: Paco Alcacer of Valencia celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at Estadi de Mestalla on January 03, 2016 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona’s summer-long search for an auxiliary forward has come to an end with the Catalan club signing Paco Alcacer from Valencia for €30 million and a potential €2 million in add-ons.

Luis Enrique finally has the striker he’s been agonizingly hoping to sign throughout the summer. Barca’s new front-man Paco Alcacer, will be replacing Munir El Haddabi, who went the other way to Valencia on a season-long loan with the option of buying him for €12 million. Can the Spain international succeed with the likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar in the pecking order?

The talisman told Barca TV: “I’m happy to be here at such a big club. I am here to provide hard work, humility and professionalism.

“Forwards live for goals and I hope I’m lucky in that respect. I want to offer my grain of sand by doing good things at Barca.

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“Coming here is a huge thrill – I’ll find it easy to adapt because I already know some of the team.

“[Lionel] Messi, Neymar and [Luis] Suarez are the three best players in the world. It will be a privilege to play next to them.”

The 23-year-old is the first forward Luis Enrique’s has penned this summer, after acquiring Lucas Digne, Samuel Umtiti, Denis Suarez, Andre Gomes and Jasper Cillissen.

With transfer targets such as Nolito, Luciano Vietto and Kevin Gameiro, all eluding the Blaugranas with the chance of playing first-team football elsewhere, Luis Enrique confessed his club will remain the same entering 2016-17 season, until the arrival of the Spanish striker.

Alcacer, who has an £85 million (100 million euros) buy-out clause in his contract, will be unveiled to the Camp Nou crowd following his international duty with Spain.

After being promoted to the first team on August 13, 2011, for a friendly against AS Roma, the 17-year-old Alcacer wasted no time captivating the Mestalla supporters, by scoring a goal. But Alcacer endured the toughest pain of his life when his father, who was headed out of the stadium, suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the pavement. He was pronounced dead at the scene by club doctors who tried reviving him.

“I was hit hard and out of nowhere when I was 18. I couldn’t even say goodbye to my father, it was so tough,” he told El Pais.

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“But that gave me the strength to keep fighting and see things in a different way.”

This tragedy played a huge role in Alcacer’s evolution to the footballer he is today. While unseating the Catalans notorious front three Messi, Suarez and Neymar, who collected 131 goals in all competitions would be a tough task for the 23-year-old, he’s the perfect complement and would be given every opportunity to make his mark.

The starlet, who was first linked with Barca the beginning of August, scored 15 goals in 46 matches, while starting 31 and accumulating 3,087 minutes with Valencia last campaign.

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