There’s absolutely no doubt that Los Blaugranas wanted to add a new striker before the January window closes and there were lots of names linked with a Camp Nou switch. Olivier Giroud had emerged as one of the top alternatives available on the market. He is not the only player on the club’s radar, though – Carlos Vela, Christian Stuani and Alvaro Morata have also appeared as alternatives
However, the dominoes were quickly falling out of place in recent hours. Vela was ruled out, Morata is close to sign with Atletico Madrid, and Stuani’s alternative eventually cooled off. But Barca have found their guy, and he goes by the name of Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Yes, you read that right. Boateng is the new Barca “number nine” and he joins the side after spending the first half of the 2018/19 season playing for Sassuolo in the Italian Serie A. Boateng has already left the club and is expected to arrive to Spanish soil in the coming hours.
Reportedly, the deal will be a season-long loan deal with an €8M buy clause at the end of the current term.
His signing does sound a bit odd on paper. He is not a natural striker and has even played as a CM for Sassuolo this term. He will probably come off the bench while featuring on several positions, but it sounds odd to imagine him as a striker, a role he’s never fulfilled in the past throughout his career.
Boateng, who has previous Liga experience playing for Las Palmas last term, has four goals in 13 Serie A appearances (10 starts) this term.
