When could Robert Lewandowski make his Barcelona debut?

Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández is putting pressure on the LaLiga club to bring in Robert Lewandowski as soon as possible. The aim is to avoid at all costs a situation in which the Polish striker, who is in Munich training with Bayern, ends up travelling with the German club to the United States, where its American tour begins on 18 July. If he does fly out to the US, Xavi wants his destination to be Miami or Las Vegas.

Laporta confident of doing Lewandowski deal in coming days

Barça president Joan Laporta has assured the coach that the deal is progressing very well and that there could be news in the coming days. It is not even ruled out that Lewandowski could be in the stands in Miami on 20 July to watch Barcelona’s first preseason friendly against Inter Miami, before starting training sessions with his new teammates with the aim of making his debut as a Blaugrana player against Real Madrid in Las Vegas on 24 July.

Bayern striker expected to cost around 45m euros

The deal for Lewandowski could end up being done for around 45 million euros plus variables, with a three-year contract worth nine million euros a year after tax. The striker, 33, would be in the top bracket of the new salary scale imposed by the club, with players like Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong having to lower their salaries to fit into the club’s wage bill.

Barcelona are working hard to get the Lewandowski over the line, and in the next few days it could be made official. If so, Xavi’s Barça would have one of the most potent strikers on the planet speaheading their forward line, with the likes of Raphinha, Dembélé, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati accompanying him on the wings and with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Pole’s understudy at center-forward. What seems clear is that under such circumstances, players like Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite and Abde will be heading to the exit.