Manchester United and Chelsea have reportedly been offered the chance to sign former Barcelona and Middlesbrough striker Martin Braithwaite.
The Premier League duo are both keen to bring in an experienced front man to act as a stop-gap solution to their striker problems until the end of the season.
Man Utd’s summer signing Rasmus Hojlund scored a fine goal against Tottenham in their last league game but has generally struggled to climatise to the Premier League.
Anthony Martial is out until April with a groin injury – so Ten Hag could be forced into making a late move for a striker.
As for Chelsea, Nicolas Jackson has not been at his best this season. The Blues are also considering selling Armando Broja, amid interest from Fulham, West Ham and Wolves.
TEAMtalk exclusively revealed on Tuesday that Chelsea could sign Karim Benzema on a six-month loan to replace Broja should he leave.
Man Utd, on the other hand, have been quiet in terms of links to new strikers despite Martial’s injury problems.
Now, it seems the English giants have the chance to bring in Braithwaite in what would be a surprising move.
Braithwaite spent two years playing for Barcelona between 2020 and 2022 before his contract was terminated.
He signed for the Catalan’s local rivals Espanyol as a free agent at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. They were ultimately relegated despite Braithwaite netting 10 LaLiga goals.
The 32-year-old came close to leaving Espanyol in the summer and even considered early retirement, but ultimately decided to stay.
He has scored 11 times in LaLiga 2 so far this term, making him the division’s top scorer.
Braithwaite is keen to return to one of Europe’s top leagues this month and his agents are working hard to get him a move.
A switch to Man Utd or Chelsea would certainly be eye-catching and they may be tempted into a deal given how cheap he is.
As mentioned, Braithwaite could be signed for just £5m due to a release clause inserted into his contract.
If Chelsea miss out on Benzema and Man Utd have no other tempting options, the two Premier League clubs could make a last-minute move for the Danish forward.
About The Author
