Deco Travels to Lisbon as Barcelona Pursues Striker Deal

Barcelona continues its efforts in the summer transfer market to sign a new striker, amid significant challenges in securing the deal for Argentine Julian Alvarez, with the transfer window closing soon.

According to reports from "RAC1" and confirmed by "Sport", Deco, Barcelona's sporting director, traveled to the Portuguese capital Lisbon this afternoon to hold a series of meetings related to sporting planning and the transfer market, with the search for a striker among his top priorities.

The identity of the player agents or clubs that Deco will meet during his trip remains unclear, but Barcelona is working on several options to bolster their attacking line, especially after the signing of Julián Álvarez has become extremely complicated. This has prompted the club to prepare other alternatives.

Luis Suarez, the Sporting Lisbon striker, and Vanagelis Pavlidis, the Benfica forward, have been linked with Barcelona in recent weeks. However, sources within the club have denied all reports regarding interest in Luis Suarez, despite journalist Fabrizio Romano indicating such interest.

Meanwhile, Barcelona's management confirms that Deco's trip to Lisbon is not related to the striker contract file, although the timing of the visit opens the door to several possibilities, especially with the transfer window closing and the club needing to finalize its attacking options in the coming days.

Barcelona continues to prioritize a move for Julian Alvarez, according to "Sport". However, Atletico Madrid's position remains an obstacle to the transfer, as Enrique Cerezo has so far refused to negotiate with Barcelona regarding the Argentine striker's move.