Barcelona will reportedly hold out for a transfer fee of €8 million for Danish forward Martin Braithwaite, who is wanted in the Premier League.
According to SPORT, Barcelona have slapped an €8 million valuation on striker Martin Braithwaite, who is reluctant to leave Camp Nou in the current transfer window despite being out of favour at the club.
Braithwaite arrived at Barcelona in February 2020 as an emergency signing from CD Leganes. While he was never really a popular acquisition, the Danish international did what was needed of him while also impressing fans with his work rate and commitment. Having started the last season strongly, the 31-year-old succumbed to an injury and was ruled out until the turn of the year.
However, by the time he returned to full fitness, Barcelona had changed managers and brought in new forwards in Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. So, Braithwaite hardly featured under Xavi Hernandez during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign. And with Barcelona now pushing to sign Robert Lewandowski, the Dane is deemed surplus to requirements at Camp Nou.
Barcelona are intent on selling Braithwaite this summer, but the striker has no desire to leave and is ready to stay put as he is happy to fight his place. So, despite the club informing him to find a new club, the Danish attacker’s representatives are showing no urgency to do so, prompting Barcelona to take matters into their own hands.
As per the report, Barcelona do not plan on terminating Braithwaite’s contract or giving him the ‘letter of freedom’ to leave the club as a free agent. But they are demanding €8 million for the striker’s services and are already in talks with two clubs from the Premier League, who are keen on signing him this summer.
Braithwaite has previously been linked with Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United, among several other English clubs. Whether it is the same teams that are talking to Barcelona has not been made clear in the report. However, what is evident is that the Blaugrana are ready to force the 31-year-old striker out of the club before the current transfer window closes.
The report adds that some clubs in Spain and abroad would be willing to sign Braithwaite for free. But Barcelona do not intend to let him go for nothing and will demand €8 million. It will be interesting to see if the Catalans are successful in their efforts to offload Braithwaite.