After the extended injury to Ousmane Dembélé, Barcelona were granted permission to sign an emergency forward. After other choices were discarded, the club has settled on Martin Braithwaite from Leganés. The 28-year-old Danish forward joins after a year in the outskirts of Madrid, having helped the La Liga side avoid relegation last season.
Barcelona are reportedly paying the 18 million euro release clause to Leganés. Understandably, the relegation-fighting side didn’t want to negotiate the price any lower.
After spending time in Midtjylland’s youth academy, Braithwaite got his break at Danish side Esbjerg fB, his hometown club. 19 goals in almost 100 appearances got him a move to Toulouse in 2013.
It was in France where the striker found his game. Close to 150 appearances, 40 goals, and 15 assists later, he landed a big money move to Middlesbrough for 11.30 million euros in 2017.
After failing to impress in the Championship, even though he scored six goals in 21 appearances, he was loaned to Bordeaux for half a season. 4 goals and 3 assists in 14 appearances was the haul back in France.
Another half season at Middlesbrough wasn’t enough to impress, and was loaned to Leganés last January. For a team facing relegation, the striker proved his worth with four goals and seven assists to help the tiny Spanish club avoid the drop.
The Pepineros rewarded him with a four-year deal in July. It appears that Barcelona will give him a similar number until June of 2023.
Braithwaite’s highest profile games have come as a Danish international. He broke into the squad in 2013, and worked his way into the line-up for the 2018 World Cup. His role for Denmark was as a winger coming off the bench, until he was put into the starting line-up for the final group stage against France and the Round of 16 loss to Croatia. Braithwaite didn’t find the back of the net, but in his defense, Denmark’s tactics were more concerned with getting one and defending.
This last point is the biggest key to the kind of player that Barcelona are buying. He can play across all three positions up front, and should be known more for his work rate than his goal-scoring. It is almost a guarantee that the forward won’t be scoring many if any goals outside of the penalty box; he was bought to battle in the tough areas and create space for Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.
Braithwaite clearly wasn’t the top pick. Neither was Quique Setién – but that’s the position that Barcelona find themselves in. What’s worse is that Barcelona’s poor planning put Leganés in a position where avoiding relegation seems impossible.
Even though his contract is until 2023, the success of the forward is crucial to him being resold. Barcelona are no strangers to not getting a proper return on their investments, with failed signings sprinkled about for the last decade.
18 million euros means that Barcelona will probably take a loss on Braithwaite. With all the other business to be done, the sales of players are just as important or more important to Barça’s future.
On a more positive note, Braithwaite has the reputation as a professional on and off the pitch. The Spanish Football Podcast spoke to him in 2019.
