Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele out for six months
Barcelona announced it does not expect Ousmane Dembele to play again this season, ruling him out for six months.
Ousmane Dembele will be out for around six months after having hamstring surgery, Barcelona confirmed.
Under LaLiga regulations, teams can look to the transfer market outside the window if they lose a player to injury for more than five months.
However, they can only sign individuals from the top two tiers in Spain, or those who are available as free agents.
With Luis Suarez also ruled out until May, who could Barca sign to bolster its attack?
Willian Jose (Real Sociedad)
The former Real Madrid striker was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham during the January transfer window but a move did not come to fruition. However, Barca reportedly only have a budget of €12million, which could prove to be insufficient to sign Willian Jose, who has fallen behind Alexander Isak in the pecking order at the Reale Arena.
Angel Rodriguez (Getafe)
A more realistic option appears to be Getafe's Rodriguez, who is believed to have €10m release clause. The 32-year-old has scored nine LaLiga goals for Jose Bordalas' Champions League-chasing side this season but has started just six top-flight matches.
Lucas Perez
After failing to make his mark in the Premier League at Arsenal and West Ham, at Deportivo Alaves Perez has rediscovered the sort of form that encouraged the Gunners to sign him from Deportivo La Coruna in 2016. He has scored nine LaLiga goals and laid on four more for Alaves this season and strike partner Joselu, formerly of Real Madrid, this week revealed he has urged Perez not to join Barca.
Loren Moron
Manager Quique Setien coached Moron for two seasons at Real Betis and he is the club's leading goalscorer in LaLiga this season, finding the net eight times and supplying two assists. Betis president Angel Haro said at the weekend there has been no official contact from Barca, and Moron's release clause is understood to stand at €40m.
