Barcelona do not count on Martin Braithwaite for next season.
Martin Braithwaite’s stint at Barcelona is going to be a short one as the Catalans are reportedly already searching for a new team for the Danish forward.
According to Mundo Deportivo, there are a number of clubs from La Liga who are said to be interested in Braithwaite.
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However, the strongest links are coming from the Premier League with the report claiming that Barcelona are already in discussion with Everton and West Ham.
Braithwaite’s season with the club is over as he is not available for the Champions League.
He was signed for €18 million back in February as an emergency signing following the hamstring injury to Ousmane Dembele. As per the rule, he was only allowed to play in La Liga and not the Champions League.
When he was signed, the club only had Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati as their only fit forwards as Luis Suarez had also gone down with an injury that required surgery.
Because Dembele was going to be out six months, he was allowed to be signed by the club and for all intents and purposes, was going to provide cover for both those losses.
Another failed signing by Barcelona.
If and when a move becomes official, it will mark yet another signing that did not pan out as hoped. Braithwaite will leave the club feeling like he couldn’t show what he was capable of and with a sense of unfinished business.
His signing was a surprise but it made sense. He was the goalscorer at Leganes and could provide pace up front, something the Blaugrana were clearly lacking.
When he did play, he showed off some of that speed and the ability to get in behind defense. One such play that immediately comes to mind is in the Clasico against Real Madrid. Unfortunately his efforts were denied by Thibaut Courtois.
What really hurt him was the stoppage due to the coronavirus. Not only did it mean the temporary postponement of the league, it meant that a player like Suarez was going to get enough time to heal from his injury.
From initially likely being out for the rest of the season, Suarez was available when the league restarted which limited the amount of minutes for Braithwaite. He was mostly used as a substitute but did start the draw against Sevilla.
After not being able to do much, his playing time became even more sporadic than what it already was.
Regardless of how people view his signing, the blame, for lack of a better word, falls on Barcelona. They took Leganes’, a team fighting relegation, top goal scorer only for him to be a glorified substitute as they went down. Had they managed to keep hold of him, they might have avoided the drop.
The move must have been a dream come true for Braithwaite. He went from fighting relegation to fighting for a league title. Now, his focus should be on securing his future even if it is away from the Camp Nou.