Alternative to Julian Alvarez: Barcelona are reportedly eyeing former VfL Bochum youth player

Spanish newspaper AS reports that Pavlidis is on a list of alternatives Barca sporting director Deco is weighing up if their bid to sign first-choice striker Julian Alvarez fails.

The Catalans are desperate to sign the Argentina international, and Alvarez is also reportedly keen to swap Atletico Madrid for Camp Nou. However, Atleti are not currently considering selling the forward and are said to have already rejected a Barca offer worth €100 million. Most recently, Atletico allegedly even complained to FIFA about Barcelona, with the Rojiblancos viewing Barca's approach to Alvarez as impermissible. The 26-year-old is, after all, still under contract in Madrid until 2030.

If they do not land Alvarez in the next few weeks, Barcelona will have to rethink their search for a successor to departed centre-forward Robert Lewandowski (now at Chicago Fire). And that is where Pavlidis could come in, with the Benfica striker, according to AS one of the first alternative options for Barca's decision-makers if an Alvarez move falls through.

Vangelis Pavlidis: once at Bochum and BVB II, soon at Barcelona?

Pavlidis joined Lisbon from AZ Alkmaar in 2024 and has turned himself into an appealing option for even bigger clubs with his consistently high scoring rate at Benfica. Last season, he posted 30 goals and six assists in 53 appearances in all competitions, but one display in the 2024/25 season is also likely to have stuck in Barca's mind: Pavlidis hit a first-half hat-trick inside the opening half-hour in Benfica's spectacular 5-4 defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League league phase.

Getty Images

His path to the top level of European football was anything but smooth. Chasing the dream of becoming a Bundesliga professional, he left his native Greece at 16 to join the youth set-up at VfL Bochum. He was later unable to break into the first team there, so Bochum first sent him on loan to Borussia Dortmund II and then to Willem II in the Netherlands. It was in the Eredivisie that Pavlidis really started to shine. Willem II signed him permanently, and his strong performances then earned him a move to Alkmaar, who in 2021 paid what now looks a modest €2.5 million fee for the Greece international.

Vangelis Pavlidis recently hit four goals for Benfica

Even if Barca now make a concrete move for Pavlidis, taking the prolific striker away from Benfica would be far from straightforward, according to AS. Pavlidis is still under contract with the Portuguese giants until 2029 and, it is said, there is little appetite in Lisbon to sell the Greek.

New coach Marco Silva sees Pavlidis as too important to Benfica after taking over this summer from Jose Mourinho (now at Real Madrid). The striker rammed that point home on Thursday, scoring the first four goals in a 5-0 win against St. Gallen in the second leg of the second round of Europa League qualifying. After losing the first leg 2-1 in Switzerland a week earlier, Benfica turned it around thanks to Pavlidis and advanced to the third qualifying round. Heart of Midlothian of Scotland now await.

Click here to read article