Barcelona Transfer News: Latest Carlos Bacca, Paco Alcacer Exchange Rumours

Barcelona are reportedly ready to rival Paris Saint-Germain for AC Milan forward Carlos Bacca and offer their struggling striker Paco Alcacer in exchange.

That's according to Le10 Sport (h/t Calciomercato.com), who note that reports from Spain and France have linked Barcelona with a move for the forward. The piece goes on to say that the Blaugrana are ready to offer up Alcacer to Milan in an attempt to sweeten the deal and move ahead of PSG in the pursuit.

As suggested in the piece, it has been reported that Milan are ready to cash in on the 29-year-old Bacca should they receive a sizeable offer mid-season. Here's why clubs of the calibre of Barcelona and PSG could be looking at him:

Despite this speculation, as noted by Calciomercato.com, Bacca's agent has noted the striker is content with life at the San Siro.

"Bacca is very happy at AC Milan," said the player's representative Sergio Barila. "Coach [Vincenzo] Montella and the rest of the club have confidence in Carlos, and are happy with his work."

Any interest in Bacca from Barcelona would be understandable. Not only has he been netting frequently for Milan, at his previous club Sevilla, he was a big hit, too. The striker's physicality, work ethic and sharp movement proved too tough to handle for a lot of players in La Liga. It's an option Barca manager Luis Enrique would surely love to call upon.

Another reason why these types of reports make sense is due to the fact Barca's summer signing up top, Alcacer, has suffered with a crisis of confidence since moving to Camp Nou.

As of yet, the former Valencia man hasn't scored in a competitive match for his new club. Per Sport (h/t Barcastuff), he at least netted in a recent friendly match against Al-Ahli:

"

Paco Alcacer took 743 minutes of action to score the first goal for Barcelona in friendly against Al-Ahli #fcblive [sport]

— Barcastuff (@barcastuff_real) December 13, 2016"

While the striker hasn't been good enough when given a chance for Barcelona, there are extenuating circumstances that have hampered him.

Most pertinently, Alcacer hasn't started that many games for his new club. The 23-year-old has made just two league starts in Barcelona colours, playing a meagre 269 minutes in the top flight. While he's playing alongside some of the finest attackers on the planet during that time, for goalscorers, a lack of minutes can dull penalty box instincts.

As this recent statistic from OptaJose revealed, Alcacer hasn't had too many chances to feature alongside Barca's main man Lionel Messi either:

Bacca would probably be a better stylistic fit for the Blaugrana. The Colombian is comfortable with his back to goal and running into the channels. Alcacer, by contrast, was a thoroughbred poacher at Valencia, not someone who will drop off the front line to get involved in general play.

Alcacer's issues may serve as a warning to Bacca, though. With Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in situ, chances to start big games will be rare for any forward that arrives at Camp Nou, and the ex-Valencia man's spell as a deputy has shown how debilitating that status can be. At 29, surely if Bacca is to leave Milan, it'll be with guaranteed football elsewhere in mind.