Chelsea ace Olivier Giroud shock Barcelona target along with Girona’s Stuani
The LaLiga giants are looking to bolster their attacking options and have sounded out the Blues forward as a potential signing
OLIVIER GIROUD is a shock transfer target for Barcelona, according to reports.
The Chelsea striker, 32, is out of contract at Stamford Bridge this summer and the Catalan side are understood to be keen.
An offer to move to the Chinese Super League is also expected to be on the table for the French World Cup winner.
But it seems unlikely Blues boss Maurizio Sarri would let both Giroud and fellow striker Alvaro Morata leave this month without finding a suitable replacement.
Morata is in talks with Atletico Madrid over a return to Spain after growing increasingly frustrated at Chelsea, especially with Eden Hazard deployed in a 'false 9' role in recent weeks.
Gonzalo Higuain is one option for the Blues but Juventus are keen to sell him this month rather than loan him out for the remainder of the season.
Bournemouth forward Callum Wilson is another target with Chelsea willing to pay up to £50m for the England striker - the Cherries may demand even more than that, though.
Barcelona are keen to bring in a new striker to provide back-up and ease the burden on current forwards Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez after selling Munir El Haddadi and Paco Alcacer this season.
The pair are LaLiga's top two scorers in the league this season. Messi leads the way, unsurprisingly, with 17 while Suarez has 14.
The former Liverpool ace is also 31 and could well be phased out at the Nou Camp over the next couple of seasons.
Stuani, 32, made his name at Barca's rivals Espanyol before earning a move to Middlesborough. He helped them into the Premier League but was often played out of position by Aitor Karanka.
The Uruguay striker moved to Girona in 2017 and has rediscovered his best form again, netting 33 times since his return to Spain.
Giroud and Stuani are the latest strikers linked with a move to the Nou Camp after reports surfaced yesterday suggesting Javier Hernandez and Fernando Llorente were both transfer targets.