When he’s good, he’s very, very good. Some even say he’s still the best striker in the world.
But when he’s bad, well, Luis Suarez is average at best. And at almost 32 years of age, even the Uruguayan has admitted that Barcelona need to sign someone to take over his mantle.
Given Paco Alcacer’s form since leaving on loan for Borussia Dortmund, one can infer that the club will be kicking themselves that they never gave the former Valencia man more time on the pitch, and Munir El Haddadi clearly isn’t the answer.
A replacement of the level required certainly isn’t going to come cheap for the Catalans either, but they’ll get what they pay for.
The issue will once again come down to integration. Like it or not, Suarez is going to have to accept a reduced role at some point and, frankly, players are not going to come to the club to play second fiddle – especially after seeing the treatment metered out to Alcacer.
There’ll be plenty of agents wanting to put their clients forward for the position, and some will naturally have more merit than others.
Three candidates from the Premier League are worth a shout...
Luis Suarez: Three potential replacements for the Barcelona striker
The three Premier League players that could replace Luis Suarez at Barcelona