Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 09:28

Martin Braithwaite still thinks he has a future at Barcelona. That reports Diario SPORT† The Danish striker, who was brought to Catalonia in February 2020 as an emergency solution, is positive about his chances of playing time under trainer Xavi and rejects a departure.

Braithwaite’s arrival in 2020 was a special one, as he was allowed to make the switch from Leganés to Barcelona under special circumstances. The Blaugranas had to deal with a lot of injuries and were able to take advantage of Spanish federation regulations stating that signing players outside the transfer window was possible when a team was facing many staffing problems. The Dane was then brought in for eighteen million euros to temporarily fill the peak vacancy.

However, after the other forwards got fit and Barca brought in new players in the summer of 2020 and 2021, Braithwaite got sidetracked. In the past two seasons combined, the 31-year-old attacker has only made fourteen starts and in those matches he has scored four times. The Catalans hope to get rid of Braithwaite for a while, but he has decided to take his chance at Camp Nou. Diario SPORT writes that the striker sees playing at Barcelona as ‘the highest possible’ and he does not want to give it up.

Meanwhile, the necessary clubs are on the line. Brighton & Hove Albion, Celta de Vigo, Sevilla and Valencia have already expressed their interest and are considering paying the transfer fee desired by Barcelona. That is said to be about eight million euros. With that money, coach Xavi can then go back to the transfer market to get reinforcements: Robert Lewandowski is mentioned as a top favorite to strengthen Barca’s attack line, but the Pole may have to wait until more financial options are available. A departure from Braithwaite is therefore highly desirable.