Barcelona’s bid to find a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski has taken another blow after it emerged the La Liga giants were chasing Strasbourg’s Emanuel Emegha, who will join Chelsea next summer.
Earlier in the week it was confirmed the Blues had reached an agreement with sister club Strasbourg that will see Emegha land at Stamford Bridge for the 2026–27 season. The promising Dutch international inked a seven-year contract with Chelsea.
Chelsea are believed to have acted early with Emegha, whose impressive form in France had attracted suitors from across Europe, many of whom had Champions League football to offer. According to SPORT, Barcelona sporting director Deco was one such admirer.
Barcelona are already planning for life after Lewandowski. The legendary Pole is entering the final year of his contract with the Catalans and, although he’s coming off a 40-goal season, it’s hard to envision Barça extending his contract for an extra year. Lewandowski will turn 38 next summer.
Although signing a center forward wasn’t a priority for Barça during the recent transfer window, the club are closely monitoring a number of strikers with an eye on the future and Emegha was one of them.
The prevailing feeling is that Barcelona will hope to land their striker of the future next summer, with the club expecting their financial situation to have improved in a year’s time.
New Manchester United striker Benjamin Šeško was also said to be on Barcelona’s radar before landing in Old Trafford. With Emegha being the latest center forward to secure a move in recent months, options are growing thin.
Names such as Julián Álvarez have been thrown around Barcelona’s orbit, but it would take a monumental financial effort for the Catalans to acquire him—as well as other strikers of that caliber—and Barcelona haven’t been able to do that in recent times.
If Barcelona don’t manage to land a marquee striker next summer, then the responsibility to replace Lewandowski in 2026–27 would almost certainly fall on Ferran Torres’ shoulders.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona ‘Targeted’ New Chelsea Striker As Robert Lewandowski Replacement.