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...

Alvaro Morata

The Chelsea forward has the advantage of having played in Spain before, albeit for Barcelona’s arch rivals Real Madrid, and also lining up alongside some of the current Blaugrana side. At just 26 years of age he’s yet to hit his peak and has plenty more left in the tank. He’s as physical as Suarez when needed, exhibits a high standard of hold-up play and would also give the Catalans some decent aerial presence. With an acceptable short and long passing game, Morata has all of the attributes to succeed at the Camp Nou. The carrot of a more permanent recall to the national side would surely appeal to him too.