Robert Lewandowski is going into the twilight of his professional career and despite his fine performances, this summer is the perfect time for Barcelona to get rid of him.
Lewandowski arrived from Bayern Munich in 2022 and his first season was super successful with 33 goals across all competitions for the Catalans. He’s backed that up with 25 goals in 48 appearances this time around but Barcelona are already having internal talks to cash in on him.
The Polish forward has made it very clear that he is very happy with life at the Camp Nou however with Atletico Madrid and a few Saudi clubs interested in him, this seems to be the end of the road for the 35-year-old.
It’s time to look beyond Robert Lewandowski:
Robert Lewandowski has scored 18 La Liga goals this season with an xG of 17.71 and 42 shots on target. He has also created 26 chances in 2617 minutes and in the final third, he still has a lot to offer.
However, the reality is that his legs are giving up and for large parts of the season, the forward has struggled to keep pace with the other attackers. Lewandowski is going to be 36 years old in August so he has probably one more good season left in him.
Apart from age, Lewandowski’s huge salary package is also a major headache for Barcelona because the 35-year-old is going to start earning €30 million this season and it’s very important that Barca gets him off the books as soon as possible.
As per reports, Atletico Madrid is keen to sign Robert Lewandowski plus the Saudi clubs are also keeping tabs and it’s not every day that there’s so much interest in a 35-year-old.
The striker’s current market value is just €15 million but with two years remaining, Barcelona can still get around €40-50 million by selling him to the right buyer. This amount might not look like a lot but if Lewandowski leaves, the Catalans will be able to free a large portion of their wage bills.
Do Barcelona have a replacement in place?
It’s kind of evident that Barcelona are planning to sell Robert Lewandowski because they are being linked with Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez and Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak both of whom are direct replacements for the Polish international.
Newcastle United need to sell players to balance their books which could force them to offload Isak. Barcelona will have to dig deep into their pockets but if Isak is up for sale, the La Liga will definitely make a move.
The other and more realistic target is Darwin Nunez who reportedly wants to leave Liverpool in the summer and is eager to join Barcelona. Given their poor financial condition, the Catalans will struggle to pay Nunez’s transfer fee as well but they will have a free run at the South American, unlike Alexander Isak who is also wanted by Arsenal and Chelsea.
At this moment, Darwin Nunez who has had 19 goal contributions in the EPL this season, is a much more realistic target for Barcelona should they offload Robert Lewandowski and their chances will grow even better if Arne Slot comes in and refuses to put faith in the Uruguayan international.
