Barcelona Pursues Nicolo Tresoldi After Alvarez Deal Falls Through
FC Barcelona have drawn a firm line under their chase for Julian Alvarez – and opened a new file marked “Nicolo Tresoldi”.
COPE journalist Victor Navarro reports that the Club Brugge striker has been identified as a serious option for the No. 9 role at Barça, with the German U21 international said to be “very, very much liked” by the club’s hierarchy. The interest comes straight on the back of the definitive collapse of their move for the Atletico Madrid forward.
Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin has closed the door on Alvarez. Completely. With that route blocked, Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco have wasted no time, accelerating their search for a centre-forward who can lead the line at the Camp Nou.
Lautaro still the main prize
Inside the club, Lautaro Martinez remains the preferred target. The Inter Milan captain has emerged as the consensus choice, and the La Liga champions are prepared to go all out to land the Argentine if a deal can be struck.
But transfer windows rarely follow a single track. As Barça work on the Lautaro front, Tresoldi has moved into the group of serious alternatives, a name that keeps coming up in internal discussions and one that has impressed key decision-makers.
A breakout star in Belgium
Tresoldi first surfaced at senior level with Hannover 96, but it is his move to Belgium that has turned him from prospect into headline act.
Since joining Club Brugge in the summer of 2025, the 21-year-old has been on a steep upward curve. His debut 2025/26 season was nothing short of explosive: 23 goals and 9 assists in all competitions, driving Brugge to the Belgian Pro League title at the Jan Breydel Stadium and announcing himself to the rest of Europe.
He has not eased off. The current 2026/27 campaign has started in the same ruthless fashion, with Tresoldi already on three goals in his first three games. The sample is small, the impact is not. Those numbers, on top of last season’s haul, have cemented his reputation as one of the most lethal young finishers on the continent.
The price of potential
That kind of rise comes with a cost. Tresoldi only arrived at Club Brugge last summer and is tied to a long-term contract running until 2039. Any club trying to pull him out of Belgium faces a complicated, and expensive, negotiation.
Brugge know exactly what they have. The Belgian champions are demanding a fee in excess of €40 million and have already turned down a substantial offer from AS Roma earlier in the window.
Barcelona like Tresoldi. Really like him. The question now is simple: do they like him enough to test Brugge’s resolve and pay the price for a striker still at the start of his story?
