Barcelona will activate Braithwaite release clause

Barcelona have informed Leganes that they are willing to pay the €18 million set as the release clause in the contract of Martin Braithwaite, according to Spanish journalist Guillem Balague.

With Luis Suarez out injured and Ousmane Dembele out for the season, the Catalan club have obtained a special permission to sign a forward outside a transfer window. A number of names were considered before head coach Quique Setien eventually chose Braithwaite. Leganes understandably refused to negotiate, and Barcelona were thus forced to pay the full price and put the matter out of the hands of Leganes.

This development has now put Leganes in a difficult situation. They are set to lose an important member of the team, without being able to sign a replacement themselves for the rest of the season. To solve the problem, they will now try to do what Barcelona did – obtain the same kind of permission, to sign someone outside a transfer window.