Martin Braithwaite has got his smile back at this summer’s European Championship with Denmark.
The forward has never really hit the heights at Barcelona in a side full of superstars, and has not been able to make his mark at the Camp Nou.
He was brought in as an emergency signing and ended up staying, because he truly believes he can be a success at the club.
Braithwaite played a total of 1,725 minutes for Barcelona last season, scoring seven times, but he’s definitely nowhere near their main man up top.
Despite his difficulties at club level, the forward enjoys a far different role for his country and is one of the first names on Kasper Hjulmand‘s teamsheet.
He feels important in this Danish side, who yesterday became the first side to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2020.
He’s only scored once so far this summer, but is performing well and this may be down to his position in the Danish team as he plays more as a winger than a number ‘9’.
His problem is that he has a big job on his hands breaking into the Barcelona front three, with players like Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho and Lionel Messi far ahead of him in the pecking order, and the arrival of Sergio Aguero making a starting spot in centre forward almost impossible.
Braithwaite now needs to decide whether he’s prepared to stay and fight for him place at the Catalan club, or try his luck elsewhere, and a good performance at this summer’s European Championship could earn him a move.
