Barcelona turn to Timo Werner as alternative to Lautaro Martinez

Barcelona turn to Bundesliga as their search for a striker continues.

One of Barcelona’s priority in the transfer window is to sign a replacement striker for Luis Suarez. It’s been an area of need for the past couple of seasons.

The smart money had the club all in for Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez. But Inter’s insistence on wanting all of the €111 million has proven to be a real sticking point in the negotiations with the Catalans offering players in exchange to no avail.

With negotiations seemingly at an impasse, Barcelona has turned their attention to another up-and-coming striker.

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According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona is said to be interested in RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner. The German striker would be available for around €60 million which is significantly less than what they would have to shell out for Martinez.

Representatives from the club have sent out feelers to Werner’s entourage to see if the player would be interested in joining.

What is potentially standing in their way is that Liverpool is reported to be the frontrunners to sign him. Werner himself has expressed interest in the past on joining a Premier League side.

For what it’s worth, RB Leipzig does not seem overly worried about losing him and no one team is in the lead at the moment.

"“There haven’t been conversations and Timo hasn’t contacted us,” said Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of RB Leipzig. “These are rumors that have been out there for a couple of weeks, but, at the moment, there is nothing new.”Source: Sport"

Among the reasons why Lautaro Martinez had been the favourite up to this point is because of his relationship with Lionel Messi. They’re both Argentinian and have played together in the national team. In that sense, Martinez would have a leg up on Werner when it comes to adapting to playing in a team with Messi.

Given the fragile financial situation at Barcelona, the fact that they’re beginning to consider possible alternatives means they are not entirely confident that they can pay the amount Inter are asking for.

But Barcelona isn’t the only ones after him either. Aside from Liverpool, clubs like Manchester United, Juventus and Bayern Munich are interested as well. Werner has scored 21 goals in 25 Bundesliga matches and at just 24, he’s only entering into the prime of his career.