Premier League News: Barca On The Clock, Given 15 Days To Sign New Player

Barcelona FC caught a break recently after they were allowed to bring in another striker to shore up their lineup. However, the Spanish champions will have to ask fast since they are only given a 15-day emergency window to sign up another striker.

Barca found itself crippled following the season-ending injury to Ousmane Dembele. Aside from the 22-year-old forward, also out of commission is Luis Suarez. However, there is a chance that the Suarez could return earlier than scheduled since he is recovering well from a knee injury. Much of this was covered in a previous report.

Even if the 33-year-old striker returns ahead of schedule, the Blaugrana needs a healthy player to add to its ranks. They are short of options in the field right now with Lionel Messi and Antonie Griezzman leading the way. Finding new players is not expected to be easy for Barca. Per the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), players can only be acquired if they are free agents or tied to another La Liga club, Goal.com reported.

That said, some options are off the table for the La Liga champions. That includes shopping outside the domestic market (if money is spent). This means that other clubs will be prevented to sell players, making it doubly hard for team manager Quique Setien to find a reliable player to add to the ranks.

Several names were said to be on the list of Barca. Angel Rodriguez of Getafe, Lucas Perez of Alaves, Roger Marti and Martin Braithwaite were mentioned but nothing has gone down for now. The actual choice of Barcelona FC is expected to be known soon.

Aside from Messi and Griezzman, other players Setien has turned to include Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Clement Lenglet. The three responded well through the guidance of Messi, who himself could be given some rest soon.

Setien knows that seeing another player go down to injury is something they don't need. It would be a wise preventive measure considering Barca needs to safeguard the health of all players they can rely on at the moment. Barcelona remains second in the Liga table behind Real Madrid and adding another healthy body could boost their campaign.