Barcelona failed with €23m January bid for target to address key issue

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Barcelona reportedly saw a €23m bid for Willian Jose rejected by Real Sociedad last month, as they continue to pursue his signature outside of the window.

The Catalan giants were rocked last month after Luis Suarez was forced to undergo knee surgery, with his recovery now expected to keep him out of action for up to four months, as per BBC Sport.

SEE MORE: Barcelona put off Plan B to bolster attacking options due to €25m asking price

Since then, they’ve suffered a second setback as Ousmane Dembele is set to undergo surgery on a hamstring injury this week, and so coach Quique Setien has seen his options further limited with a reliance now on Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati to lead their charge across two fronts.

However, according to Mundo Deportivo, they did try to find a solution after the Suarez blow, but saw a €23m offer rejected by Sociedad for Jose.

The 28-year-old has scored eight goals in 22 La Liga appearances so far this season, and he could have been a useful solution up front to cover the loss of Suarez.

€23m was seemingly not enough to convince Sociedad to sell though, while the report adds that Jose is still a target for Barcelona outside of the window as the injury suffered by Dembele could allow them to sign a player still, provided that he plies his trade in Spain.

In turn, Jose ticks the right boxes, but if a €23m bid wasn’t enough as recently as last month and given Barca’s desperate situation, it remains to be seen how much it would cost them to land their preferred target, or if they are forced to look elsewhere at alternatives to help them win both La Liga and the Champions League this year.

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