Barcelona have decided against pursuing a deal for Bournemouth forward Justin Kluivert after judging the Premier League club’s €100m valuation to be excessive, according to reports in Spain.
The Catalan club have been assessing attacking options this summer as they continue to explore the possibility of signing Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid and consider potential long-term successors to Robert Lewandowski.
French striker Kluivert, 20, re-emerged in recent days as a candidate to reinforce Barcelona’s frontline from next season, following an impressive campaign with Bournemouth in the Premier League.
However, Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo reports that, despite closely monitoring Kluivert throughout last season – along with a number of other forwards – Barcelona do not believe a transfer for the player is viable at the price being quoted.
Club executives are said to view Bournemouth’s asking price, understood to be around €100m, as disproportionate and “unreasonable” for a player at Kluivert’s current stage of development.
The same report states that Barcelona have already indicated a willingness to pay a similar fee – approximately €100m – to Atletico Madrid in an effort to sign Alvarez, but that they rate the Argentina international at a significantly higher level than Kluivert.
Barcelona are also reported to feel that, while Kluivert enjoyed a breakout season in England, he does not yet display the kind of extraordinary potential once associated with Ronaldo Nazario.
Historic benchmark
The comparison with Ronaldo is not accidental. In 1996, Barcelona broke their transfer record by paying 2.5 billion pesetas – then equivalent to €15m – to sign the Brazilian striker, known as “O Fenomeno”.
Ronaldo went on to deliver a remarkable single season at Camp Nou, a campaign that firmly justified the club’s major financial outlay and set a benchmark within the hierarchy for what they expect when committing large sums for attacking players.
The situation with Kluivert is viewed internally as very different. While the young French forward impressed many observers in the Premier League last term, scoring 13 goals for Bournemouth, he has yet to make his debut for the France senior national team.
Proven star the priority
Mundo Deportivo concludes that Barcelona’s stance is encapsulated in what it describes as the club’s clear transfer motto in the current market.
“Barcelona’s slogan is clear: if you pay €100m, it must be for a proven star,” the newspaper reports.
That position has effectively ended any immediate prospect of Kluivert moving to Camp Nou, unless Bournemouth are willing to lower their demands significantly.
Barcelona are expected to continue focusing their efforts on Alvarez and other high-level attacking targets, while maintaining their policy of reserving nine-figure investments for players they regard as established, top-tier performers.
