Barcelona are reportedly weighing up a possible €20m raid on Braga to land Francisco Trincao in a bid to strengthen their attack before the deadline.
As noted by BBC Sport, the Catalan giants are expected to be without stalwart Luis Suarez for four months after he underwent knee surgery.
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With Ousmane Dembele currently sidelined with an injury of his own, coach Quique Setien could perhaps struggle with a lack of quality and depth in the final third, particularly given Barcelona are still trying to compete on multiple fronts this season.
In turn, bringing in a reinforcement before the transfer deadline could be decisive, and according to Record, the reigning La Liga champions are said to be lining up a €20m bid to land Trincao.
Further, respected Sky Sport Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has added that talks have been held between the two clubs, and so there could yet be a late addition to the Barcelona squad with Trincao handing them a timely boost.
The 20-year-old has been in decent form so far this season, scoring three goals and providing six assists in 22 appearances for the Portuguese outfit. Further, he has been capped from U17 to U21 level for Portugal, and so it seems as though he could have a bright future ahead of him.
Capable of playing anywhere across the frontline, his preferred position is the right wing, and so perhaps that could be a hint that Setien may look to deploy Lionel Messi in a more central role.
Time will tell if the pieces fall into place for Barcelona to add Trincao to the squad in the next day or so, but with Di Marzio also noting that they’ve struggled to bring in a striker so far with Rodrigo and Dusan Tadic specifically mentioned in his report above, it remains to be seen if they have any better luck with the Portuguese youngster.