Carlos Vela emerges as striker option for Barcelona

Carlos Vela is the latest name to pop up Barcelona continue their search for a back-up striker.

Carlos Vela is the newest name to be linked with Barcelona as the club searches for a back-up for Luis Suarez. SER Catalunya, the Catalan affiliate of Cadena SER, were the first to break this news. According to the report, Los Angeles Football Club’s (LAFC) Carlos Vela, alongside Alvaro Morata, are the two forwards the club have in mind to take over Munir’s place. The latter left to Sevilla after not coming to terms on a new contract.

However, Vela may have turned into Barcelona’s first choice as Morata is set to sign with Atletico Madrid as the player himself discarded the idea of playing for the Blaugrana. Just as it would have been with the likes of Christian Stuani and Maxi Lopez, any potential negotiation for the Mexican forward will have its roadblocks.

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To start, it is highly unlikely that LAFC will even entertain the idea of selling Vela. He is their marquee player for a club who has only been in the league for one season. He is a huge attraction in the LA market considering the Mexican population there. Vela himself would need to push for any negotiation to have a chance.

The second, and perhaps most significant, obstacle is the fact that Vela is not an out-and-out striker. He is a forward who can play on either wing and occasionally drifts inside. That is how he played with LAFC and how he’s usually deployed with the Mexican national team. Another factor is whether or not he’d accept being a part-time player. With the likes of Messi, Suarez, Dembele, and Coutinho, playing time will be scarce. One of the knocks on Vela during his time in Europe was that he did not really care about football/soccer and saw it for what it was: a job.

If he still carries that same mentality, perhaps it is more likely that he would accept a bit-part role. A point in his favor is that he does know the league quite well. His longest stint in Europe was with Real Sociedad where he spent six seasons alongside Antoine Griezmann.

Barcelona is desperate to find a back-up ‘9’ and while Carlos Vela is currently on their radar, it would not be surprising if a few more names pop up before the end of the transfer window.