Celtic vs Barcelona Preview: Catalans take on Scottish giants as search for “new Larsson” continues

The Catalan club kick off their preparations against the Scottish side as they scour the market for a striker who can provide back-up as the Swede did after his move from Glasgow Barcelona meet Celtic in Dublin on Saturday in the International Champions Cup as the Blaugrana return to work ahead of the 2016-17 season, still hoping to sign a support striker in the mould of a man who once graced these two teams: Henrik Larsson. The Catalan club have already signed France defenders Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne this summer, while Portugal midfielder Andre Gomes arrived from Valencia last week and Denis Suarez has been brought back from Villarreal. However, a striker was the top priority at the start of the window and a forward has remained elusive this summer. Nolito moved to Manchester City, while Luciano Vietto is heading to Sevilla and Kevin Gameiro is set to join Atletico Madrid as many of the targets appear unwilling to play second fiddle to the much-lauded MSN strikeforce featuring Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. So the club are now scouring the market for a player who can come in and be happy to operate as an impact player from the bench, as Larsson did so effectively in his two-season spell at Camp Nou between 2004 and 2006 which culminated in a superb cameo in the 2006 Champions League final against Arsenal as the Swede set up both Barca goals in a 2-1 win. Robin van Persie, Mario Gomez and Carlos Bacca are among the names in the frame for the role, but Barca will have to make do without a new forward for now as they kick off their pre-season programme in Dublin. Neymar and Rafinha are away with Brazil at the Olympic Games, while Umtiti, Digne, Gomes, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Ivan Rakitic, Arda Turan, Thomas Vermaelen and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are all still holiday after their Euro 2016 exploits. Messi returned early from his break after the Copa America, however, and is available along with Suarez for Saturday’s match. Barca have been training at St. George’s Park in England, where Jeremy Mathieu missed Thursday’s morning session through illness and Martin Montoya was out with an adductor strain. The French defender did return for the evening practice, though, and should be fit for Saturday’s game in which Luis Enrique will be expected to give a run-out to as many players as possible in his 24-man squad. “We’re excited to be back,” Luis Enrique said last week. “The holidays have been longer than usual. Now it’s time to start work again. The objectives are the maximum and they are very attractive.” Asked about Messi’s state of mind following the Copa America Centenario final loss to Chile, he said: “He will be here like he always is - excited to play football. The pitch is his natural habitat.” And on the striker search, he added: “It’s true that we are looking for another forward. There are a lot of players who want to come to Barca, and some who think they won’t play much. What we want is a player who wants to be here and wants to help out.”

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