Since signing for Barcelona in July 2022, the striker has gone on to score an incredible 105 goals in all competitions - at least 48 more than any other squad member - and provided 20 assists.
No sign of a new deal for Lewandowski at Barcelona
He has more than paid rent for the €45m fee that Bayern Munich demanded for his services, and one could legitimately argue that he is worthy of one final contract at the Catalan giants.
However, reports emanating out of Barcelona all seem to point to the club deciding not to extend Lewandowski's current deal, which runs out at the end of the current campaign.
There remains plenty of time to get a deal done, of course, though the player and his agent, Pini Zahavi, would clearly like to know Barca's plans one way or another as soon as practicable.
Were the Blaugranes to bid the front man a respectful goodbye, it paves the way for a new centre-forward to make their name at the new Camp Nou.
Rashford - the cost-effective option
When finished, this cathedral of football will hold the most supporters in any European stadium (105,000), and there's likely to be nowhere better for a player to make their name.
The issue for Barcelona is just who they look to in terms of being the guarantee of goals that Lewandowski has proven to be in the autumn of his career.
From a cost standpoint - hugely important given the financial constraints that the club remain under - the expected signing of Marcus Rashford could prove to be a masterstroke if Hansi Flick were to agree to the England international playing down the middle rather than out on the wing.
As he showed at Man Utd when playing more centrally during the 2022/23 campaign, he can be a real threat in goalscoring terms, and his power and pace, as well as his eye for goal, would certainly serve him well in such a role.
Alvarez - the dream capture
Assuming that Joan Laporta - if he remains in power - or his presidential replacement would prefer to look elsewhere for a new front man, the first question has to be whether the club will stick with a target man in the same mould as Lewandowski or go for someone more suited to Barcelona's style.
There are very good reasons why Julian Alvarez would therefore be a dream capture.
The Argentinian has proven to be a talismanic figure for Atletico Madrid and, far from taking a while to settle in after his move from Man City, has seamlessly slotted in like hand in glove.
To date, the striker has bagged an astonishing 36 goals and provided 11 assists in just 66 games, 56 of which have been as a starter.
Importantly, he has scored every type of goal from a poacher's finish, long-range spectacular strikes, direct free-kicks, headed goals, deft lobs and more.
His skill set has seen him dovetail incredibly well with Antoine Griezmann and his other Atleti teammates, and whilst you're unlikely to find him angling for a move away, if Barca show their hand, one can expect it would be difficult for Alvarez to turn down.
Powerhouse frontman won't be Haaland
However, unless the Catalans can offer their Madrid counterparts a compelling fee and/or player swap, there's simply no reason for the Rojiblancos to give up their star man easily or at all.
Were Barca to ultimately decide that having a powerhouse of a centre-forward remains the way to go, at least for the next few seasons, there are potentially one or two options.
That won't include Laporta's dream signing, Erling Haaland, who the club simply wouldn't be able to afford at this point. How they must be kicking themselves now after turning down the Norwegian's services for €20m in 2020 in preference to signing Martin Braithwaite for €18m.
The two candidates who could represent a more realistic purchase are Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane.
Could Kane ignore the lure of Premier League goals record?
The former is arguably more mobile than England's greatest-ever goalscorer, though as Kane has shown again this season with a sensational 18 goals in 10 games, he only needs to concentrate on what he's good at - putting the ball in the back of the net - and allow others to do the hard graft.
At 33 years of age by the time he could sign for the Catalans, one could argue that Kane is just that little bit too old to be spending decent money on. However, they would be exactly the same arguments that were used when it was clear the club were interested in Lewandowski, and look how that turned out.
He has been sensational for Bayern, who, in fairness, have provided the tools for him to do his work in the best possible way, signing wide men such as Michael Olise to consistently pick him out with aplomb.
The service from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal would likely be even better, so perhaps the only real stumbling block to that particular move happening is if Kane wants to return to the Premier League so that he can beat Alan Shearer's all-time goalscoring record.
Guirassy is no consolation prize
Guirassy is no consolation prize, however.
Since his move from Stuttgart to Dortmund, he's found the net on 44 occasions in all competitions, with only Kane (59), Kylian Mbappe (58), Haaland and Lewandowski (both 46) scoring more in that time.
Furthermore, his release clause will have dropped significantly next summer from the reported €75m that clubs would've had to cough up had they shown interest in the most recent transfer window.
It's reported that the player is aware of Barcelona's interest and hasn't rebuffed the same either, so time will tell if he will be the new man to lead their line from next season...
