Barcelona set sights on La Liga star to solve key issue for Setien

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With Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele on the long-term injury list at Barcelona, the search for a replacement goes on for the Catalan club.

In order for the blaugranes to be able to sign another player outside of the transfer window, Dembele has to be out of action for at least the next five months, per a report in MARCA.

With that in mind, there are various candidates that are interesting Barca at present, one of whom is Real Sociedad’s Willian Jose, again per MARCA.

The 28-year-old has recently fallen behind Alex Isak in the pecking order, and MARCA also note that there were discussions between the two clubs back in January, and before Dembele was injured, but a fee couldn’t be agreed.

That may well prove to be the stumbling block again this time, as his release clause is currently at €70m.

For a short-term option, that’s an awfully big outlay.

Nevertheless, with Dembele and Suarez sidelined and the pressure on Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati to lead their pursuit of La Liga and Champions League success, adding a reinforcement could be a huge boost for Setien and the Catalan giants.

Jose has scored eight goals in 21 league outings so far this season, and as a natural striker who can play up top, he could be a sensible addition to the squad to give them a focal point up front which in turn could help bring the best out of their other attacking options.

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