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Barcelona begin their title defence of La Liga on Sunday with a trip to Elche. They travel with no senior striker in their squad.

After the end of last season, it was decided that Robert Lewandowski’s contract would not be renewed, and he eventually joined Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire.

Last week, Ferran Torres moved to Paris Saint-Germain for €50million (£42.8m; $58.3m).

It leaves the 18-year-old Egyptian Hamza Abdelkarim, who spent the second half of last term with the under-19s, as Flick’s sole recognised ‘No 9’.

Barca have been saying all summer that Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez is their only transfer target for the position, but the chances of that coming off are not rated favourably around the club. Atletico’s position is that the Argentina international is not for sale.

What can we expect from Barca’s attack this campaign? Have they given up on Alvarez? And how does interest from Arsenal factor into the equation?

How did Barcelona get here?

As last season came to an end, Barca’s biggest decision-makers — manager Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco — decided it was time for a big revamp in their front line.

They decided to let Lewandowski leave on the expiry of his contract. The Poland international, who turned 38 on Friday, had fulfilled a cycle at Barca and the club wanted a younger player to replace him.

Barca identified Alvarez as their top target. The 26-year-old is seen as Flick’s dream striker and Deco got on board with the signing. Alvarez was seen by both of them as a top-tier player, and there was an acknowledgement within the club that there was a limited range of quality options available.

Club sources — speaking anonymously, like all those cited here, as they did not have permission to comment — also say they made an informal approach to Chelsea about Joao Pedro early in the transfer window, but they were notified he was not for sale on any terms.

Barca said they submitted an offer to Atletico of €100million ($116m; £87m) for Alvarez by the end of May. Atletico denied this was the case and publicly replied to Barca’s interest with a series of social media posts linking them to absurd bids for Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Raphinha.

“Don’t believe everything you see, especially if it’s related to Barca,” one of their messages read.

Despite that, Barca maintained their interest in Alvarez, who put more spice into the saga when he was at the World Cup. As Argentina navigated their way through the group stage, Alvarez told ESPN he wanted a transfer.

“I can’t hide it,” he said. “I try to be an honest person. I spoke with Atletico Madrid, and a transfer is the best option. I want to fulfill my dream.”

Those words increased the optimism within Barcelona, who still had Alvarez as their only target up front, but Atletico did not soften their stance. Their chief executive, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, appeared on the club’s social media channels in July to reaffirm their stance.

“We won’t sell him,” Gil Marin said. “Not for €100million, not for €150m, not for €200m”.

Atletico also filed a complaint with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and FIFA against Barcelona. The Catalan club said they were notified about the report by the end of July. The RFEF started an internal investigation.

This is where pessimism started to grow significantly about their chances of signing Alvarez. The striker returned to training with Atletico last week, and there has been no change to his situation.

Have Arsenal shown interest in Alvarez?

Arsenal are long-term admirers of Alvarez and have indicated to club and player they would be interested in signing him if any move to Barcelona does not materialise.

The Premier League champions reason that the pool of attackers who can improve them is relatively small, and so would naturally be interested in the opportunity to sign a forward of Alvarez’s quality. While Arsenal’s focus has been on adding a left-winger, there is some flexibility around that.

At present, however, it is unclear whether Alvarez would be prepared to return to England, where he spent two seasons with Manchester City. Arsenal would want encouragement from the player’s camp before progressing any negotiations. Sources with knowledge of the situation say Alvarez has been adamant all summer that his intention is to move to Barcelona — that stance would need to shift for a deal with Arsenal to become a realistic prospect.

James McNicholas

Julian Alvarez facing Arsenal in the Champions League last season (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

What else happened at Barca to leave them in this situation?

Parallel to the Alvarez saga, Barca had another issue brewing in the background: Torres’ future.

Torres’s contract was due to expire in June 2027. Barca believed the 26-year-old was already on very good financial terms, and they had doubts about offering him a significant upgrade. Torres’ situation had further complications, such as the €8million Barca would have needed to pay Manchester City if he had signed an extension.

Ferran Torres has left for Paris Saint-Germain (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Barcelona did not see Torres as the striker to lead them in the coming years of their project, and that affected how Torres felt about the club. Then Torres scored the winning goal for Spain against Argentina in July’s World Cup final and his profile skyrocketed.

PSG showed interest in signing him but Barca said they did not intend to sell — unless the player notified them he wanted to go.

Barca were made aware of Torres’ preference to join PSG two weeks ago. Both clubs negotiated a fee, and Barca sanctioned a departure in the region of €50million for a player in the final year of his contract.

It was not a bad piece of business for Barca, but it left them with a big problem up front. The two centre-forwards Flick had last season are gone, and the new striker they identified as a priority has not arrived. Club sources maintain they have employed a coordinated transfer strategy.

Despite this, there are questions to be asked, especially regarding Alvarez and how late Barca started to acknowledge that he was unlikely to be an option to sign. But this was a risk that Deco and Flick were happy to take — now they must deal with it.

What is Barcelona’s plan now?

Barcelona will go into their first league match of the season on Sunday without a senior No 9 in their squad — meaning Flick has to come up with something new.

The most sensible option could be to use Raphinha or summer signing Anthony Gordon as a ‘false nine’ (withdrawn centre-forward).

Barca played a friendly against Basel last weekend with the Brazil forward as a central striker, and he responded well. Gordon featured as a central attacker for a short spell in their final pre-season match against Egyptian side Al Ahly on Wednesday.

Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi have signed this summer (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Another summer arrival, Karim Adeyemi, could feature, too, but the Germany international has not been used in central positions yet — he has been seen as a wide threat. Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo have both been used in the ‘No 10’ (attacking midfield) role in pre-season rather than up front.

The other option would be to trust the youth. Abdelkarim has been one of the club’s summer sensations. With four goals, he was their top goalscorer in pre-season and showed impressive instinct inside the box. Barca signed the Egypt international on a permanent basis this summer, after he joined the club on loan last January.

Abdelkarim is a classic No 9, has impressed Flick and is expected to remain with the first team this season. He featured in four games at the World Cup, reflecting how high expectations are back home, but it still might be too soon for him to become a regular at Barca.

Even so, if Abdelkarim does not start on Sunday, he can still expect to get some playing time.

Are there Alvarez alternatives for Barca?

There are, because Deco has said Barcelona expect to sign a No 9 before the end of the transfer window on September 1.

“We have solutions in the team (for the central striker role), but we will probably make a move before the end of the transfer window,” he told Catalan television TV3 before the game against Al Ahly.

“The role Ferran Torres had has been covered by the signings (Gordon and Adeyemi), but replacing Lewandowski is difficult.”

Deco is working on identifying other profiles for the No 9 role. Local reports suggested Inter’s Lautaro Martinez was Barca’s top target after accepting that Alvarez would not join the club.

Senior Camp Nou sources told TheAthleticthat Martinez is a player they have monitored and who has admirers within the club. But Inter view him as unsellable, as he is a key figure at the club and within the dressing room as captain.

Inter view Lautaro Martinez as unsellable (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Who else could they sign then? Barca voices admit there are hardly any top-level options available beyond Alvarez. Deco had previously monitored names such as Victor Osimhen and Omar Marmoush, but none of them fully convinced all of the club’s decision-makers.

Club Brugge’s Nicolo Tresoldi has been suggested as an option in Barcelona media, but there is no indication that any move has been made on that front. Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres is another name that has been linked to Barca in reports, but he is not the most admired name within the Catalan club’s hierarchy.

Flick will certainly be keen to wait on Alvarez for as long as he can, especially given how tense the situation is becoming for Atletico.

During Atletico’s opening league match against Malaga on Wednesday, a small share of local fans at the Metropolitano sung chants against Alvarez, who did not play as he completes his staggered return from the World Cup, and insulted him. Atletico coach Diego Simeone was asked about this in his post-match press conference and said, “I am very respectful with my people.”

Then, on Friday morning, signs appeared outside Atletico’s training ground with messages reading “Julian, out” and with the No 19 — which Alvarez wears — crossed through like a traffic sign.

🚨 #AHORA | 👀 APARECIERON CARTELES CONTRA JULIÁN ÁLVAREZ EN ATLÉTICO MADRID

📌 Empapelaron los alrededores de la Ciudad Deportiva con pancartas contra el delantero argentino

📌 Los mensajes son “JULIÁN FUERA” y una señal de prohibición con el 19, dorsal que utiliza.

📸… pic.twitter.com/EuG4cdnQcZ

— doble amarilla ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@okdobleamarilla) August 21, 2026

Whatever happens with the Argentinian, the reality is Barca need a new striker.

Lewandowski and Torres scored a combined 40 goals last season — are Gordon and Adeyemi enough to cover that?

There will be games in which they will need a focal presence up front and where the talented Abdelkarim is surely not enough. The same applies if they want any chance of winning the Champions League this season.

This is why we can expect Deco to be active and pushing for a new signing, even if that could mean Alvarez’s dream is over for now and the foreseeable future.

As ever in Barcelona, the final weeks of the window will be fascinating.