Perfect Lewandowski replacement: ‘Woltemade 2.0’ dreams of Barcelona

Hoffenheim striker Fisnik Asllani is being courted by Europe’s biggest clubs, and he has now revealed that he dreams of joining Barcelona.

The 23-year-old has become one of the Bundesliga’s hottest commodities after a red-hot start to the season for Hoffenheim. Asllani has netted five goals and provided two assists in seven appearances across all competitions so far.

This form hasn’t come out of the blue, either. While Asllani is likely an unfamiliar name to people who don’t follow German football, he has been one of the best attackers in the country for the best part of the year.

He enjoyed a breakout season with promotion-challenging SV Elversberg in the 2. Bundesliga last term and is now impressing on the big stage. The fact that he made his breakthrough at SVE has earned him comparisons to Nick Woltemade, who fired the minnows into the second tier in 2023.

He is as technically adept as Woltemade, but that’s where the similarities end. Although Asllani stands at 6ft 2in, he is not quite as towering as the Newcastle striker, making him much more mobile. Born in Berlin, he represents Kosovo at the international level.

Asllani dreams of Barcelona

On Monday, Sky Germany revealed that pretty much all of Europe’s biggest clubs are keeping tabs on Asllani’s progress ahead of a move to a Champions League-level club next summer.

Indeed, his agent, Roger Wittmann, confirmed as much to the German outlet, openly admitting that the plan was already for Asllani to make the jump to a big team this summer. However, Hoffenheim blocked his exit and handed him improved terms to keep him for another year.

Barcelona, who will likely need a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski next summer, will surely be aware of Asllani’s exploits, and the youngster has now confirmed that he would jump at the opportunity to suit up for the Blaugrana.

“My dream club has always been FC Barcelona,” he told BILD. “I’ve always wanted to play there. I’d like to play in the Champions League someday. It’s important to have dreams and to work towards something.”

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