Barcelona's Search for a New No.9: Alvarez or Pavlidis?

Barcelona’s search for a new No.9 has a clear headline act and a fast-rising understudy.

Julian Alvarez remains the dream. Vangelis Pavlidis is the contingency plan that suddenly feels a lot more serious.

Barca’s €100m obsession hits a wall

According to Spanish outlet AS, Deco has Alvarez at the top of his list to replace Robert Lewandowski, who left for Chicago Fire this summer. Barcelona want the Argentina international badly. Alvarez, for his part, is said to be keen on trading Atletico Madrid for Camp Nou.

Atleti’s response has been blunt.

The Madrid club are not entertaining a sale and have already turned down a Barcelona offer worth €100 million. The forward is tied to Atletico until 2030, and the Rojiblancos are treating that contract like a shield. The tension has escalated off the pitch as well, with Atletico reportedly filing a complaint to FIFA over what they consider an improper approach from Barca for their 26-year-old striker.

So Barca wait. But they cannot wait forever.

If the Alvarez pursuit stalls in the coming weeks, Deco and his team will have to pivot. That is where Pavlidis steps into frame.

Pavlidis: from Bochum’s fringes to Barca’s radar

On Deco’s shortlist of alternatives, AS reports that Vangelis Pavlidis is among the first names. The Benfica striker has forced his way into the conversation the hard way, and with goals. Lots of them.

Pavlidis joined Benfica from AZ Alkmaar in 2024 and wasted no time justifying the move. Last season, he delivered 30 goals and six assists in 53 games across all competitions. Those are elite numbers for any striker, let alone one still climbing the ladder of European recognition.

One particular night will not have escaped Barcelona’s memory. In the Champions League league phase, Pavlidis tore into them with a first-half hat-trick inside 30 minutes in a wild 5-4 win for Barca over Benfica. The Portuguese side lost the match, but the Greek forward left a mark on the Catalan bench that statistics alone cannot capture.

It has been a long road to this point.

At 16, Pavlidis left Greece to chase a Bundesliga dream with VfL Bochum’s youth system. The breakthrough never came. Bochum loaned him to Borussia Dortmund II, then shipped him to Willem II in the Netherlands. There, in the Eredivisie, everything started to click.

Willem II signed him permanently, and his form pushed him up another rung. AZ Alkmaar paid what now looks a bargain €2.5 million for the Greece international in 2021. Steady improvement, consistent finishing, and a growing reputation followed. Benfica came next. Now, potentially, Barcelona.

Benfica’s new cornerstone

There is a problem for Barca, though: prising Pavlidis out of Lisbon will not be simple.

His contract with Benfica runs until 2029, and, according to AS, there is little appetite in the Portuguese capital to cash in. New coach Marco Silva, who took over this summer from Jose Mourinho (now at Real Madrid), views Pavlidis as central to his plans.

The striker underlined that status in brutal fashion on Thursday night.

Facing St. Gallen in the second leg of the second round of Europa League qualifying, Benfica needed a response after a 2-1 defeat in Switzerland. Pavlidis provided it almost single-handedly, scoring the first four goals in a 5-0 win that flipped the tie and sent Benfica through to the third qualifying round.

Four goals, one statement: he is not just a name on a shortlist. He is a leader of the line.

Heart of Midlothian await Benfica next, and Silva will lean on his in-form forward again. Barcelona, watching from afar, know exactly what they are seeing: a striker in his prime, under long contract, at a club that has no reason to sell cheap.

So Deco’s dilemma sharpens. Push harder for Alvarez and risk a prolonged standoff with Atletico, or turn to Pavlidis and try to tempt Benfica into parting with their new talisman.

Either way, Barca’s next No.9 will define more than a season. It will shape the next era at Camp Nou.