Report: Dortmund move early to activate red-hot Alcacer's €23M clause

Paco Alcacer is having himself a season.

The Spanish striker, on loan at Borussia Dortmund from Barcelona, is enjoying the the best form of his career so far. He hasn't yet started a Bundesliga game for Lucien Favre's side, but has incredibly scored six goals in just 81 minutes of game time as a substitute.

Overall, the 25-year-old has found the net nine times in less than 250 minutes in the 2018-19 campaign, when factoring in his strike against AS Monaco in the Champions League and the brace he netted against Wales on Thursday in his first Spain appearance in two-and-a-half years.

It's no surprise, then, that Dortmund have already decided to activate the option they hold within the loan agreement to make the former Valencia man's transfer permanent for a fee of €23 million, as reported by German newspaper BILD.

According to Barcelona-based outlet Sport, that deal will make Alcacer the club's third-highest earner behind only talisman Marco Reus and Mario Gotze. Alcacer will earn €8 million per season on a contract running until 2023.

The clause means it's too late for Barcelona to back out of a permanent sale, although it's questionable whether that would be on their mind, considering La Blaugrana's wealth of world-class attacking talent and the fact that Alcacer has scored just 15 goals in 50 games for the Catalonian club.

However, given the striker's sudden surge in form, it will likely feel like a missed opportunity to make a profit on the man they signed for €30 million a little over two years ago.