Late €21m bid Barcelona bid for striker rejected – They’ve now abandoned hunt for Suárez replacement

Barcelona made a late bid for Real Sociedad’s Willian José before abandoning their search for a new striker.

The Spanish giants have been hunting for a new forward this month after Luis Suárez was ruled out with an injury.

They have been linked to several around Europe as a result, although the club’s financial situation made any significant moves almost impossible.

They’ve now abandoned that hunt, but according to La Sexta journalist José Luis Sanchez, they made one final attempt with a bid for Willian José.

He reports that Barça made a €21m bid for the Brazilian forward on Thursday, but that was rejected by La Real, who demanded €30m.

That’s a price Barcelona ‘refused to reach’, bringing a swift end to the idea and their hunt for Suarez’s replacement as well.

It’s now unlikely that any new forward will arrive at the club before this evening’s transfer deadline, leaving manager Quique Setién to figure out a way of resolving the issue with what he already has available.

Given they signed Antoine Griezmann in the summer, that shouldn’t prove to be too difficult a task for him.