Martin Braithwaite is set to finally leave Barcelona

Martin Braithwaite looks to be finally heading out of the door at the Nou Camp, after months of fighting with Barcelona about his departure.

Braithwaite was a surprise arrival at the club when he joined in February 2020, with the deal being allowed outside of the transfer window due to being an emergency signing after Ousmane Dembele's injury.

Despite his poor spell at Middlesborough, the Danish striker had been playing well at Leganes, but it was still seen as very much a stop gap move.

Two and a half years later and the 31-year-old is still there, despite his diminishing importance to the first team, especially with Robert Lewandowski having joined this summer.

Braithwaite was one of the players that the club were hoping would leave in order to get his wages off their books but he has previously refused to go.

However, according to reports on deadline day, he is now set to move to Espanyol, meaning he won't be leaving the city, and has already started his medical.

Braithwaite has spent much of his time sat on the bench. Image: Alamy

His current side will be paying a small fee to release him from his contract, allowing him to join their local rivals with no transfer fee involved.

That will be a relief for all involved, including fans at Barcelona, who recently booed the former Toulouse striker during a friendly against Mexican side Pumas UNAM.

Mallorca had previously been linked with a move for the forward but he'd reportedly been after a wage rise to move to the island club.

Barca will be glad that he's finally set to leave considering their financial issues, that made it tough to register players they signed this summer.

Lewandowski's arrival meant Braithwaite was even less needed at Barcelona. Image: Alamy

Those issues delayed Jules Kounde's debut for the club but even when he finally was registered it still meant Pablo Torre having to be moved down to the club's B team.

Braithwaite isn't the only player who Barca have tried hard to get rid of this summer, with Frenkie de Jong still hanging around the Nou Camp.

The Dutchman flew to England earlier this week but it wasn't expected to mean he's going to be signing on deadline day, instead it was for Donny van de Beek's wedding.

Topics: La Liga, Espanyol, Barcelona, Martin Braithwaite

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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