Barcelona Have Some Surprise Names On Their Five Man Striker Shortlist

Barcelona are on the hunt for a back up striker to sign in the January transfer window to lessen the burden on Luis Suarez and there's some very surprise names on their shortlist.

Squad strength is very important in football these days and it's very difficult for clubs to find the balance of signing a new player that isn't going to be in the first XI, especially for the big clubs.

Basically you've got to somehow sell the idea that your bench is a better bench to sit on than the one the player is currently sitting on whilst earning loads of money. Wish I was a footballer who wasn't quite good enough for a top side's starting XI.

Barcelona have a pretty good starting front line so anyone coming into that team knows that there's a very good chance they won't be going straight into it, after all you can't be expecting to replace Lionel Messi.

The La Liga leaders do have an issue though in that Luis Suarez is their only out and out striker since Munir left for Sevilla earlier this month.

As it would only be a backup signing they aren't after the creme de la creme but according to the Daily Mail there's some surprise names on their five man shortlist.

The paper say that Chelsea duo Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud are joined by Tottenham's Fernando Llorente, West Ham's Lucas Perez and Girona's Cristhian Stuani.

Morata isn't exactly in form right now. Image: PA Images

The Catalan side haven't made a decision on if they'll definitely make a signing or not yet and that decision is likely to come after the Copa del Rey second leg.

Morata might be the most obvious target, seeing as how the player wants out of the club, but Chelsea want any loan deal to include an obligation to buy which Barca are less likely to want if they get knocked out of the Copa.

Stuani's form is definitely better in La Liga than the Premier League. Image: PA Images

Stuani might seem an odd choice for anyone who remember his time at Middlesbrough but the 32 year old is La Liga's third top scorer this season.

Girona are asking for the full €15 million of the striker's release clause and that may cause a stumbling block to any deal.

Suarez will be 32 by the end of the month and Barca have also been linked with younger players in the summer as his long term replacement so a loan or cheap transfer is most likely this January.

Topics: Football News, Barcelona, Transfer stories, Alvaro Morata, Luis Suarez, Transfer rumours, Transfer news, Olivier Giroud, Spanish football, La Liga

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.

@Sidler28