How will Barcelona solve their case of the missing striker?
The key question for Barcelona is whether sporting director Deco can land a centre-forward before the transfer window closes.
Barca’s attempt to sign Julian Alvarez splintered on the rocks of Atletico Madrid’s resolve, leaving Flick without an obvious replacement for Lewandowski.
“What Ferran did we can cover with the signings, but what Robert did is more difficult,” said Deco.
“We have internal solutions, but we will make another move; we’ll try and find the best solution.”
Barcelona could opt for a cheaper attacker and preserve their spending power for next summer, particularly after making pricey moves for Rodri and Gordon.
Dani Olmo, Raphinha, Gordon and Adeyemi can all operate as false nines, giving Flick different ways to compensate for the absence of a traditional striker, if the club does not get a deal over the line.