Ángel becomes Barcelona's prime option
After intially being ruled out by Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal, the Getafe striker is now one of the favourites to be named as the club's latest signing.
Ángel Rodríguez has now become a prime option for Barcelona in their search for short-term reinforcements up front to cover the loss of Luis Suárez and Ousmane Dembélé.
The Getafe striker had initially been ruled out by sporting director, Eric Abidal. But with Barça holding no hope of signing a higher-profile striker and knowing their search for Luis Suarez’s true replacement will have to wait until the summer, Ángel has jumped to the top of the club's agenda virtually overnight.
Speaking on Catalunya Radio on Wednesday, Getafe president Ángel Torres said he hadn’t been given any indication that Barcelona wanted to sign Ángel. He, like everyone else, knew first-hand that the 32-year-old player had been ruled out by Barça’s sporting directorate. But since Abidal’s initial rejection a week ago, the situation has changed.
Getafe would only be delighted to bring in 10 million euros for the almost 33-year-old footballer, who has an evident eye for goal but has never in his career been on a list of potential targets for the great Catalan club.
Barcelona’s other targets
Meanwhile, Lucas Pérez (Alavés) and Roger Martí (Levante) remain on Abidal's list, however, Willian José (Sociedad) and Loren (Betis) have been discarded, according reports by Catalan radio station, RAC1. Both of the latter two played under Quique Setién in Las Palmas and Betis, respectively.
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu had originally promised Setién that he would sign a number ‘9’ to cover the injured Luis Suárez. But by the January transfer window's close, they had not granted the coach his wish. However the loss of Dembélé, who will miss up to six months after undergoing surgery on Wednesday, has obligated the club to sign a striker.
As soon as Barcelona have the 'Ok' of LaLiga and the Spanish federation to sign a player outside of the window, they will proceed with the operation. And a player initially ruled out could end up becoming the club’s great hope for the rest of the season.