The Centre-Forward Carousel: Barcelona’s Álvarez Gambit and the Shadow of Mbappé in Paris
Julián Álvarez is rapidly shaping up to be the undisputed protagonist of this summer’s transfer soap opera. The Atlético Madrid talisman is currently fielding admiring glances from across the continent, with Paris Saint-Germain heavily sniffing around to secure his signature. Yet, it’s Barcelona who might just throw a spanner in the works for the French champions. The Catalan giants have seemingly made the Argentine their marquee priority for the impending window, and it’s not hard to see why. They have a massive, Lewandowski-shaped hole to fill up top.
With Robert Lewandowski having officially packed his bags and said his goodbyes, the mood around Camp Nou is understandably a bit sombre. Stepping into the shoes of arguably the most lethal poacher of his generation is a staggering order. Deco, Barça’s sporting director, recently lifted the lid on the club’s predicament to Mundo Deportivo, striking a rather pragmatic tone about their upcoming recruitment drive. Keeping his cards close to his chest, he insisted that their strategy wasn’t strictly about finding a carbon-copy profile and that nobody was actively being ruled in or out just yet. Still, the underlying reality of the situation isn’t lost on the boardroom.
Deco didn’t mince his words about the gravity of the Polish striker’s departure, openly admitting it was a genuinely sad day for the club. Replacing a bloke who practically guaranteed goals for fun over the last few years borders on the impossible. Naturally, Barcelona have tried their hand at internal fixes—most notably with Ferran Torres being shoehorned from the wing into a makeshift number nine role—but Deco reckons the time for stopgaps is drawing to a close. The higher-ups are gearing up to make some definitive calls to properly bolster the squad for the coming campaign.
It’s a transitional headache that PSG know all too well, having navigated their own monumental shifting of the guard when Kylian Mbappé finally made his long-awaited switch to Real Madrid. While PSG are now actively chasing grafters like Álvarez to lead a more balanced frontline, the ghosts of their past superstars still prompt plenty of chatter. Just ask Presnel Kimpembe. The former PSG centre-half, who is now plying his trade over at Qatar SC, recently chewed the fat on RMC about what it was actually like sharing a dressing room—and a pitch—with the French captain.
Kimpembe wasn’t shy about having a mild pop at Mbappé’s infamous reluctance to track back. For a defender tasked with doing the dirty work, watching your star forward stroll around when out of possession is enough to make anyone grind their teeth. He freely admitted that Mbappé’s lack of defensive graft absolutely knackered him on more than one occasion. But whenever Kimpembe tried to give him a rollicking about it, Mbappé always had a razor-sharp comeback loaded in the chamber. You simply couldn’t win a verbal sparring match with him.
Underneath the banter and the occasional pitch-level frustration, though, the Parisian academy graduate was quick to highlight the sheer aura the forward possesses. Irrespective of his defensive output, Mbappé is a genuine leader. Kimpembe has seen firsthand how he can grab a game by the scruff of the neck and elevate everyone around him, whether that’s wearing the armband for Les Bleus, dominating at Parc des Princes, or adjusting to life at the Bernabéu.
Even so, there’s an unmistakable tinge of regret when looking back at their shared stint in the French capital, purely because they never managed to get their hands on the Holy Grail together. The Champions League remains the ultimate metric for success at PSG, and failing to lift Ol’ Big Ears during the height of the Mbappé era is a pill that’s clearly still hard to swallow. Funnily enough, Kimpembe manages to look at the bright side of the current landscape, actively revelling in the irony that PSG finally went all the way and clinched the Champions League title last season without their former talisman holding their hand. Meanwhile, with Mbappé currently hitting a few unexpected speed bumps over in Madrid, his old defensive partner is just quietly hoping he manages to turn the tide and ultimately end his spell in Spain on a high note.
