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The transfer window in the Bundesliga will close in just 11 days. Clubs all across Germany are wrapping up what business they have left as the summer ends and the season gets underway.
Dortmund still have one big item on their shopping list before the deadline comes and goes; they desperately need to sign a new striker. Just this weekend the club were linked with Liverpool’s Divock Origi, and now an alternative option from the continent is coming into view.
According to L’Equipe, BVB are interested in Barcelona’s Paco Alcácer. Here’s a translation of their report:
The number 9 market has been accelerating for several days. Borussia Dortmund studied several profiles before settling on one of them: the Spanish Paco Alcácer (24 years old).
Arrived at Barça in 2016, the former center forward of Valencia is the priority of Lucien Favre, the new coach of Dortmund.
L’Equipe doesn’t mention anything about a bid from Dortmund, but Mundo Deportivo reported today that Alcácer had an offer from a German team. Both reports came out at similar times, and it would make sense if they were each different pieces of the same transfer puzzle. The pieces fit together best if Dortmund are that German team.
Alcácer has had limited success since joining Barcelona from Valencia in 2016. He scored 4 goals last year in 17 La Liga appearances with the vast majority of his playing time coming as a substitute. Opportunities can be scarce when you’re competing for places with players like Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suárez, and Lionel Messi.
At 5’9 Alcácer is shorter than most strikers, but his game excels when he can drop deep and hold onto the ball through his passing and dribbling technique. Still, he lacks the deadly power/pace combination that is so crucial to the skill-sets of former Dortmund strikers Michy Batshuayi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The 24-year-old was viewed as having tremendous potential when he was younger and still at Valencia. The Barcelona leg of his career has been rough, but maybe Dortmund is exactly the kind of change of scenery he needs to get back to scoring goals.