Hansi Flick's plan doesn't involve Julián Álvarez: he wants a world-class top scorer

Hansi Flick has already been clear with the sporting management: His priority is to sign a pure center forward, a constant reference in the box. He is not looking for a versatile profile or an striker who moves across the entire attacking front. He wants a classic number nine, one of those who pin down center-backs and turn every cross into a real threat.

The German coach believes that the current squad has talent, mobility, and creativity, but it lacks that figure who organizes the attack from the tip. In his internal analysis, this absence can become an obstacle to the growth of the project. For Flick, the competitive leap involves bringing in a goalscorer who provides presence, power, and efficiency in the final yards (meters).

Julián Álvarez, talent without a place in the plan

In that scenario, one of the names that had been linked to the club is losing momentum: Julián Álvarez. The Argentine forward is a player of enormous quality, with the ability to combine, press, and move intelligently across the entire attacking front. However, that same profile is what raises doubts within the coaching staff.

Flick doesn't question his quality, but he believes that moving away from the box doesn't fit with what the team needs. Barça already has footballers who offer mobility and play between the lines. What is missing, according to the coach, is a forward who stays in the box and offers a fixed and dominant reference.

The importance of a classic number nine in his game idea

Flick's vision is very specific, in his offensive model, the figure of the traditional number nine is not decorative, it is structural. A forward who pins down center-backs allows the wingers to be freed, opens spaces for the attacking midfielders, and creates more clarity in the final third. It is a piece that conditions the opposing defense and organizes his own attack.

The German coach doesn't want a false nine or an striker who constantly drifts wide. He is looking for an elite goalscorer, someone who turns crosses into goals and who commands respect with his physical presence and his instinct alone. For him, that figure can completely change the team's attacking dynamic and give it a new competitive dimension.

Haaland, the name that embodies the ideal

In that search, a name appears that especially excites the coach: Erling Haaland. The Norwegian almost perfectly represents the profile that Flick desires. Powerful, decisive, and with an extraordinary goalscoring instinct, he is the type of forward who lives in the box and punishes any defensive mistake.

For the coach, Haaland symbolizes the real step up in quality that the project needs. It is not just about signing a good player, but about bringing in a global reference capable of leading the attack for years. The message is clear: Flick wants a dominant number nine, and in that plan, Julián Álvarez is not the chosen piece.