To many it may look like Barcelona did nothing to strengthen their strike force and were completely bailed out by the rules that allowed them to sign Martin Braithwaite instead.
In actual fact, it’s starting to emerge that they made some desperate attempts to bring somebody in as the transfer the window drew to a close.
According to a report from Bild, Barcelona made an approach for French striker Alassane Plea, with a fee of around €50m being suggested.
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The report goes on to suggest that the Borussia Monchengladbach manager put his foot down, as the club felt they needed him for their push for Champions League qualification while they also felt they would struggle to find an adequate replacement.
Plea hasn’t been outstandingly prolific since his move to Germany, but 20 goals in 52 games is still decent and he often tends to play in the wider positions rather than going through the centre.
He just turned 27 so he would’ve been a longer term solution that Braithwaite and would likely have added more quality, but it seems the late timing of the approach made it almost impossible for Barca to pull off.