Out-of-favour Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite has reportedly emerged as a transfer target for the Catalans’ La Liga rivals Valencia.
According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, as relayed by Barça Universal, Valencia are eyeing the potential signing of forgotten Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Braithwaite arrived at Barcelona in February 2020 as an emergency signing from Leganes. The Danish forward’s signing was met with a lot of criticism at first. But over time, the versatile forward was able to win over the Barcelona supporters due to his attitude and work rate on the pitch.
Never a regular in the starting lineup, the forward still chipped in with valuable contributions more often than not whenever given an opportunity. To date, he has made 58 appearances for Barcelona, scoring ten goals and setting up five more. He started the season well, scoring twice and assisting once more in three games before picking up an injury.
Since returning to full fitness after the turn of the year, Braithwaite has found game-time hard to come by as Barcelona strengthened their frontline significantly in January with the signings of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore.
Indeed, Braithwaite has played just two games under current manager Xavi Hernandez. And with Barcelona plotting to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich in the summer, his prospects of getting regular playing time will continue to get bleaker.
At this point, an exit would be the best step forward for all parties involved, and Valencia are seemingly ready to offer Braithwaite an escape route in the summer. Los Che have been heavily reliant on young Hugo Duro to carry the goalscoring burden, with Maxi Gomez not firing on all cylinders. Given the situation, adding an experienced forward like Braithwaite might serve the club well.
As for Barcelona, they would be getting rid of a player who is clearly surplus to requirements, which would free up room on their wage bill for any incoming players in the upcoming transfer window. The 30-year-old, whose contract with the Blaugrana runs until 2024, is also on the radars of Premier League club Newcastle United. An exit this summer seems increasingly likely, and it remains to be seen where he ends up.
