Girona co-owner Pere Guardiola – brother of Pep – has squashed rumours of a move for star striker Artem Dovbyk this month after Chelsea were linked with the forward. The Blues are looking for a new addition to their attack in January having underperformed massively in front of goal....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
With both Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen looking increasingly unlikely and massively expensive to acquire at this stage, the attention has turned to cheaper options to bolster Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. Dovbyk, a relatively unknown quantity before this season, is a name added to the list of reported targets.
The 26-year-old has spearheaded Girona’s miraculous and unexpected rise towards the top of La Liga, scoring 11 times in 16 league games so far. Although he didn’t get a goal in the last gasp 4-3 win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, a game that took them seven points clear of third place Barcelona and level with league leaders Real Madrid, he has been a revelation.
Dovbyk only joined Girona over the summer for £5million but has hit the ground running in Spain. It has lead to him being linked with a move to Stamford Bridge already, especially as he shares the same agent as fellow Ukrainian Mykhailo Mudryk. However, Guardiola isn’t looking to sell his key man.
“There are no offers,” he told Spanish media. “Rumours, all of them. We don’t have offers for anyone. Not from Barcelona for Aleix [Garcia], not from Chelsea for Dovbyk, for anyone. And we have no intention of selling to anyone either. The thing is that journalists really like the transfer window.”
Guardiola’s comments come with plenty of speculation circulating around his team as well as that of their new competitors. It has been said, for example, that Barcelona themselves could consider letting Robert Lewandowski depart the club for a large fee due to his massive wages.
The Catalan club are also said to have a clause that could see his four year deal cut short at the end of next season if he doesn’t play in over 55% of games. Lewandowski still has three years left on what was a huge initial contract at Camp Nou and is already 35 and Barcelona continue to invest heavily in their stars of tomorrow.
On Thursday night, Brazilian youngster Vitor Roque made his debut for the club and is seen as a long-term replacement for Lewandowski, such are his talents.
Head coach Xavi said that his veteran forward is under pressure and won’t get special treatment. “(Benching a big name) has already happened, I’ve already done it,” he said. “I cannot treat one footballer differently than another, otherwise the group will not work well.
“If players are on the pitch, it’s because I believe they can help. The example is the last match between the two halves. We’re not talking about anything new here.” He added: “Vitor can adapt to any position in the attack, he can play out wide or as a nine.”
Meanwhile even Barcelona’s players have put some thought to life without Lewandowski as Pedri name-checked Manchester City star Erling Haaland as a possible striker for the club in the future. “For Barca I would sign Haaland,” he said. “He’s a cyborg.
He scores a lot of goals. Lewandowski is not going to last until he is 60. Julian Alvarez is also playing very well, ‘the spider’, he’s a very good player.”
Against the odds, Lewandowski’s future is now in doubt and he has previously attracted the attention of Chelsea, namely when he left Bayern Munich to move to Barcelona and is the type of journeyman, experienced striker that many are pointing towards as an option to improve things in the final third quickly.
Lewandowski has continued to score goals despite his age, too, and has 42 since the start of last season with 13 assists in his 68 games.
It is Dovbyk that is currently more closely linked with a move, though, and Girona are determined to keep their man. “The truth is that we have a good squad,” Guardiola finished.
“Obviously it’s normal that things will happen at the end [of the window], but people have noticed us because we are doing things well.”What we want is for nothing to happen or minimal to happen in January…CONTINUE READING>>
