Could Barca really spend big on Alvarez & Bastoni?!

Barcelona summer spending GFX

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick doesn't want to get bogged down in questions about the summer transfer window at this particular moment in time, and that's perfectly understandable. The Catalans may be presently nine points clear of Real Madrid in the Spanish title race, but there's still work to be done - possibly without an injured Lamine Yamal - and, as Flick pointed out on Tuesday, "La Liga is not an easy league."

tHowever, winning the Champions League is even tougher, and conquering Europe remains Barca's dream/obsession, which is why this year's quarter-final exit hit so hard. The Blaugrana firmly believed themselves capable of going one better than last year's semi-final appearance, but they came up short again - and only had themselves to blame, after having a man sent off in both legs of their 3-2 aggregate loss to Atletico Madrid.

Flick is adamant, though, that Barca are not far away from ending an 11-year Champions League drought. "The team is young, and we have a lot of potential to get better and better," the German said. "We have a good structure, but, as I always say, we have to make the right decisions in the transfer period. We must not make any stupid decisions. We must be perfect."

And he's right. Barcelona will have money to spend this summer, but it's imperative that they spend it wisely. Flick says that he and sporting director Deco have very "clear ideas" about what they need to do to take the team to the next level and, according to widespread reports in Spain, it centres on signing Julian Alvarez and Alessandro Bastoni.

So, does investing the vast majority of their transfer budget in two players make sense? And are Barca now on a sound enough financial footing to actually sign both?

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Soft centre

For all the legitimate concerns about Flick's ridiculously high line, it's clear that Barcelona are short on quality at the heart of their defence. Pau Cubarsi remains a raw talent, but what he's doing at the highest level at 19 years of age is extraordinary - particularly as he no longer has an experienced and commanding centre-back alongside him following Inigo Martinez's move to Saudi Arabia last summer.

Ronald Araujo may be Barca's captain, but he's more of a liability than a leader, and while versatile duo Eric Garcia and Gerard Martin are both good, they're not good enough for a team with aspirations of winning the Champions League.

As for Andreas Christensen, he's expected to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season - and the most useful contribution of his Blaugrana career to date was suffering a long-term injury that allowed the cash-strapped Catalans to register Dani Olmo last season.

Bringing in a world-class, left-footed centre-back is, thus, imperative for Barca, and one could easily argue that Bastoni is the best in the business...

FC Internazionale v US Lecce - Serie A

Time to move on

Of course, it would have been an even easier argument before the start of the current campaign, which has been something of a personal nightmare for the Inter defender.

Bastoni became Public Enemy No.1 in Italy for shamefully celebrating the disgraceful act of simulation with which he got Pierre Kalulu sent off in Inter's Serie A win over Juventus at San Siro in February. He escaped sanction for the dive, but karma caught up with him less than a month later, with Bastoni shown a straight red card in a World Cup play-off against Bosnia & Herzegovina that effectively cost his country a place at this summer's tournament in North America.

The common consensus is, then, that Bastoni needs a chance of scenery as soon as possible and, in a huge boost for Barca, Inter, who have their own financial issues, are open to selling the 27-year-old.

Despite concerns over Bastoni's ability to play in a back four - there is a suspicion that his particular set of skills are only suited to the freedom and security afforded by a three-man defence - he will not be short on suitors, with Liverpool among those linked.

Elche CF v Real Madrid CF - LaLiga EA Sports

Player-plus-cash deal?

However, the feeling is that Bastoni has his heart set on a move to Camp Nou and, according to Mundo Deportivo, is close to agreeing a five-year deal with Barca, having already agreed to adjust his salary to adhere to the club's budgetary restrictions.

Furthermore, while Inter are reportedly looking for a fee in the region of €70 million (£61m/$82m) for Bastoni, the Serie A leaders are also said to be open to accepting a player-plus-cash deal - which would obviously be ideal for Barca, who are apparently more than willing to send Hector Fort in the opposite direction as soon as the teenage right-back returns from his season-long loan at Elche.

It's also been claimed that Swedish winger Roony Bardghji and Hungarian goalkeeper Aron Yaakobishvili could be used as makeweights in a transfer that actually appears more probable than possible at the moment. However, the proposed Alvarez move is a different story altogether.

Julian Alvarez

Open to the possibility

As is the case with Bastoni, the Catalan press are convinced that Alvarez favours Barcelona above all other possible destinations this summer - and that may very well be the case. The Atletico attacker has certainly done nothing to quell talk of transfer to one of his club's main rivals.

"I see what people say on social media and, in Spain, people speak a lot about me and Barcelona," Alvarez told L'Equipe in November. "For now, I am focused on Atletico and we will review the situation at the end of the season."

Of course, the Rojiblancos have since knocked Barca out of the Champions League and are now just three games away from lifting the European Cup for the first time, meaning it's by no means a given that Alvarez will want to leave the Metropolitano. Even if he does, though, would Atleti really let him go? And to Barcelona? For a fee the Catalans can afford?

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Ideal Lewandowski replacement

Atletico committed €95m (£82m/$111m) to signing Alvarez from Manchester City in 2024 and he still has six years left on his contract, so it's inconceivable that the club would accept anything less than a nine-figure fee for his services. After all, in a footballing world where elite-level No.9s are now a scarce commodity, Alvarez's stock has only risen over the past two years - which is why Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Chelsea have also been credited with an interest in the World Cup winner.

He's a quick, strong, mobile, versatile and industrious centre-forward with a thunderous strike that makes him a menace at set-pieces, while he's also got a proven track record of delivering on the game's grandest stages. Consequently, Barca believe there isn't a better Robert Lewandowski replacement in the game today.

The question, then, is not whether Alvarez would be a good acquisition for the Blaugrana, but high they'd be willing to go if a bidding war broke out for the 26-year-old?

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'On the right track'

The good news for Barca is that they are edging ever closer to finally getting their house in order. La Liga president Javier Tebas admitted that the Catalans "are on the right track" towards meeting the Spanish top-flight's infamous 1:1 financial regulation, which basically means that clubs operating within their wage limit are allowed to spend 100 percent of the revenue they generate from sales or salary savings on new players.

Indeed, Barcelona treasurer Ferran Olive recently claimed that the club is just €10m-12m away from their target and are, thus, "in a position to sign a top striker this summer. In fact, I can say the club is actively looking for it."

Alvarez is the No.1 target, but he's not the only one. The name of Alexander Sorloth is also being bandied about, and that's because Alvarez's Atleti team-mate would be available for a much smaller price.

The word is that Barca will only have approximately €130m (£113m/$153m) to spend this summer, which is why the Catalans have gone cold on the idea of taking up their option to sign Marcus Rashford on a permanent basis from Manchester United for €30m (£26m/$35m) - which looked like a given just a few months ago. Barca are instead exploring younger, cheaper alternatives, such as Victor Munoz, Ez Abde, Jan Virgili and Andreas Schjelderup.

Offloading out-of contract duo Lewandowski and Christensen, and hopefully also former captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen, would also free up some wiggle room on the wage bill, but it's clear that a significant sum of money will also have to be raised from sales if Barca are to bring in both Bastoni and Alvarez. Luckily, the Blaugrana do have valuable assets that are also expendable, such as Ferran Torres, Marc Casado and maybe even Alejandro Balde amid rumours of a cut-price move for Bayer Leverkusen's Alejandro Grimaldo.

Torres has never quite convinced as a No.9 and has attracted interest from both England and Italy, midfielder Casado is surplus to requirements in Barca's strongest department, while Balde's form has fluctuated this season and his potential exit - just like that of Casado - would bring in some of that precious pure profit.

As with La Liga, then, there is still work to be done, and when it comes to buying, and more importantly, registering new players, nothing can ever be taken for granted with Barca. Usually, the only certainty is uncertainty.

Flick is, thus, right to be cautious, as there's not much room for manoeuvre - or any real margin for error. As it stands, though, while signing both Bastoni and Alvarez will be difficult, it's certainly not impossible - and really would represent a pretty perfect window for Barca in the circumstances.