La Liga giants Barcelona are reportedly set to make a shock move for Leganes striker Martin Braithwaite and trigger his £17million release clause. The Spanish club has been given special permission by La Liga to make emergency signings despite the transfer window being closed.
This comes in the wake of an injury to Luis Suarez and French forward Ousmane Dembele who was ruled out for six months with a serious hamstring injury after undergoing surgery in Finland last week. Mundo Deportivo claimed that relevant documentation was sent by Barcelona to LaLiga’s medical committee last Thursday asking for permission to sign a replacement.
The Spanish football authority on Monday gave Barcelona permission to sign a replacement after the committee confirmed the injury of Dembele as a long-term lay-off.
According to La Liga, Barcelona have two weeks to sign a player who is either playing in the Spanish league or is a free agent despite the European transfer window being closed. Unfortunately, the players will not be allowed to play in UEFA Champions League when Barcelona take on Napoli in the last-16 a week on Tuesday.
And according to reports in Spain, Barcelona are set to sign Braithwaite from Leganesin the coming days. The Danish striker’s agent landed in Barcelona on Monday to finalise an agreement over personal terms. However, the club are set to hold a final meeting with Leganés officials to thrash out a final agreement on the transfer fee.
The Danish striker has netted six goals and provided one assist for struggling Leganes across 24 LaLiga appearances this season. Braithwaite scored just nine times in 40 appearances during his two-year stint at Middlesbrough, having joined the club from Ligue 1 side Toulouse in 2017.
Braithwaite’s imminent arrival at Barcelona reminds fans of last season’s January capture of Kevin-Prince Boateng on loan. The former Ghana international was a desperate signing to boost numbers up front and failed to score during his time with the club.
