Barcelona receive transfer boost as striker terminates contract with club - Reports

Barcelona target Cedric Bakambu has reportedly terminated his contract with Chinese club Beijing Guoan.

Bakambu's deal with the Chinese outfit kept him at the club until the end of December 2021 after which he would have become a free agent. However, the former Villarreal forward has chosen to leave the club, according to Fichajes (via Barca Universal).

This essentially means Barcelona, who have been linked with Bakambu previously, can sign him immediately. The Blaugrana were reportedly weighing up an offer for the DR Congo striker in the January transfer window.

This is not the first time Bakambu has been linked with a move to the Camp Nou. Barcelona were said to be interested in signing the player twice previously. Most recently, Bakambu was said to be on his way to the club in January 2020 before they chose to sign Martin Braithwaite from Leganes.

The Catalans' renewed interest in Bakambu right now is extremely understandable. Barcelona have a gaping hole in attack as the likes of Sergio Aguero, Ansu Fati and Braithwaite are on the sidelines. New boss Xavi does not seem to trust Luuk de Jong, who is the only other striker at the club.

Barcelona have tried deploying Memphis Depay as their focal point in attack with mixed results. They have also promoted Abde Ezzalzouli and Ilias Akhomach to the first team, but neither player has enough experience to lead the line for Barcelona.

Consequently, the signing of Bakambu could give Barcelona an excellent option upfront in goal given his previous experience in La Liga.

---

Barcelona target Cedric Bakambu has enjoyed a goal-filled career

Cedric Bakambu began his senior career with FC Sochaux in France, for whom he scored 21 goals from 107 matches. Bakambu then moved to Bursaspor in Turkey where he improved his goalscoring exploits and netted 21 goals in 40 games.

The 30-year-old's most prolific spell in Europe came while he was at Villarreal, who he joined in 2015. In three years with the Yellow Submarine, Bakambu played 105 matches and scored 47 goals while also laying out five assists. He then departed the club for Chinese outfit Beijing Guoan.

Bakambu's record in China is excellent as well, as he has found the back of the net 58 times in 87 matches in addition to recording 21 assists. He also has 13 goals in 38 appearances for his national team, DR Congo.

If Barcelona do choose to bring Bakambu back to spain, they will be getting a proven goalscorer who has plenty of experience from around the world.