Barcelona have unlikely plan to sign top striker wanted by Manchester United and Manchester City

Barcelona will scout Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres this week as the Portuguese champions take on Arsenal. The Catalan side have not yet ruled themselves out of signing the Swedish striker, who has impressed everyone over the past year.

In Portugal, the news is that Manchester City, Manchester United, Barcelona, ​​​​Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich have all requested seats for their scouts for the match, with all eyes on Gyokeres. The 26-year-old has announced he will not leave during the winter transfer window, but it seems almost certain he will leave next summer.

That's where Barcelona has a problem. Robert Lewandowski's contract with the Blaugrana will be extended for another year next season, after which he will turn 37 years old. The Polish striker reportedly feels he has enough left in the tank to keep going until he is 39. Sport say Barcelona still believe they can sign Gyokeres for around €70 million, despite his €100 million release clause, and see him as Lewandowski's successor.

Their plan is to sign Gyokeres in the summer of 2025 and send him out on loan to Sporting CP next season. This would obviously also delay the cost of the deal, as they did with Vitor Roque, and ease the timeline of the transfer to Lewandowski.

This seems quite unlikely as Gyokeres may not want a third year in Portugal as he seems to be reaching his peak. The fact that there are a number of giants interested in him and that he is 26 years old means that Barcelona are not in a position to keep him waiting. Likewise, there is little harm in letting the idea float. It should also be noted that less than a week ago the same newspaper reported that Barcelona had more or less given up on the idea of ​​signing Gyokeres.