5 replacements for Luis Suárez at Barcelona

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Luisito has been off form for a while now and Barca may need to begin looking at replacements

It feels strange saying this but Luis “El Pisotlero” Suárez’s time seems to be up at FC Barcelona less than 4 seasons after joining.

A £64.98m signing from Liverpool in 2014, the Uruguayan became the last piece of the MSN; Lionel Messi, Suárez himself & Neymar trinity that briefly threatened to destroy all in its path.

In the last two seasons, the prolific Uruguayan seems to have lost the mojo which made him one of the best strikers in the last decade.

Gone are the sharpness, incisive movement, intelligence and all-around menace he carried with him as he now trudges along on the pitch, hardly getting involved and missing a hatful of chances.

With the G.O.A.T, Lionel Messi also in his early 30s, now would be a good time for the Blaugrana to refresh their forward line.

Here are five potential Barca-quality forwards that the board should be looking at:

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#5 Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen & Germany)

The German trickster has the qualities to grow into the Suarez role for Barca

It seems redundant to describe Brandt as a rising star given how many games he has played for Bayer Leverkusen since his debut in 2014.

A young German international whose fresh-faced mien belies a devilish trickster who loves nothing more than to run at defenders and cause havoc to the opposition's backline.

Capable of playing on either flank or behind a striker, Brandt’s intelligence and dribbling skills would make him a perfect fit for a Barca frontline renowned for its fluidity and interplay.

Playing alongside another young prodigy like Ousmane Dembélé and the experienced genius of Leo Messi, Brandt’s qualities will be given the perfect platform as while more will be demanded from him, the presence of other, more established stars would take away some of the pressure and give the youngster room to grow.

Parallels can be drawn between the qualities Brandt possess and those of more established winger/playmaker/strikers like Alexis Sanchez, Neymar and even Messi himself. He will not be a like-for-like replacement for the Uruguayan Suarez but he will be just as effective in a variety of positions.

Given his ceiling, a price of £55m should be enough to prise him from the Bay Arena.

Also read: 5 things we didn't expect from the La Liga this season

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