Braithwaite turned down WBA move

Martin Braithwaite turned down an offer to leave Barcelona for West Bromwich Albion in the January transfer window, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona signed the forward in February last year from Leganes, in a rather controversial move when they obtained a special permission to sign a player outside the designated transfer windows due to long-term injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele. This term, the Denmark international has started nine La Liga games, making further eight appearances in the Spanish top flight off the bench and scoring twice.

There had been rumours prior to the start of the winter window that the Catalan club would’ve been willing to contemplate decent offers for the services of the 29-year-old, but with Suarez now playing for Atletico Madrid and Ansu Fati not expected back from a mensical laceration before mid-March, it never really made sense to let Braithwaite leave in the middle of the season.

Apparently, Baggies boss Sam Allardyce was keen on bringing Braithwaite to Hawthorns on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to make the deal permanent in the summer, but the striker had no inclination to leave Barcelona to join the relegation battlers in the Premier League.