Barcelona have completed the emergency signing of Leganes striker Martin Braithwaite for €18 million. 

The La Liga champions were granted special permission to add a player to their squad by the RFEF following news of Ousmane Dembele's six-month injury lay-off. 

With Luis Suarez also sidelined for the rest of the season, the club only had three fit forwards in Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati. 

Braithwaite's addition means Barca can breath easy once again, but it's a controversial move and one that leaves Leganes in despair.

The club are facing a battle to avoid relegation and their Danish striker would have been key to the survival bid, having scored six goals in his 24 league appearances. 

That may not sound like too many, but it's actually one-third of the club's total La Liga goals this season. 

Barca may well have added further insult to injury too in the form of Braithwaite's new release clause. 

The Blaugrana were able to sign the striker for cheap by activating his previous €18 million clause. 

To make sure nobody else can touch him, the club have included a €300 million release in his new contract. 

Barca have literally stolen Braithwaite on the cheap, outside of the transfer window, and now made his new buyout clause more than 10 times what it was. 

It's almost unbelievable - and they say Manchester City are ruining football. This whole transfer just doesn't seem fair. 

Let's take a moment to compare Braithwaite's release clause to some other big names. 

In demand Premier League midfielder Jack Grealish can be bought for £45 million, while Inter Milan's highly-rated Lautaro Martinez is available for €111 million. 

Braithwaite is also now more expensive than the likes of Erling Haaland, Thomas Partey and Timo Werner, who also have low buyouts. 

As much as the transfer seems massively unfair on Leganes, you've got to appreciate Barcelona protecting their assets, we suppose.