Barcelona wanted to sign Bundesliga prodigy in January, but were denied by La Liga

According to the latest reports from Gerard Romero, Barcelona were very keen on signing Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko in the upcoming January transfer window. However, the Catalans were denied the move by La Liga due to the lack of Fair Play margin.

Moukoko has been in splendid form in the ongoing campaign, having managed a return of six goals and four assists from just 14 Bundesliga matches prior to the World Cup break.

On the back of his performances, the 18-year-old also earned a call-up to the German national team for the Qatar World Cup.

With his contract with the Black and Yellows expiring at the end of the ongoing season, the striker has become a man-in-demand in the transfer market.

Barcelona have been gunning to sign Moukoko, although it was reported that the club would only consider signing him on a Bosman deal in the summer. At the same time, there has been interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United.

Now, though, Romero is reporting that Barça were intent on pushing through Moukoko’s transfer in the winter window itself.

To that end, they even approached La Liga to assess whether they can carry out the move because of their Fair Play issues. However, the journalist reports that the Blaugrana were given a firm ‘NO’ by the Spanish top flight.

As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are currently exceeding the Fair Play margin by around €30 million. It means that the club are no longer in a position to operate on the 1:1 rule in the market either.

So, signing Moukoko would be difficult in the winter as they would not only have to pay a transfer fee but also accommodate his wages.

However, a summer move for the 18-year-old striker is not off the table, with Barcelona still in the hunt in what is described as a very open race for the Borussia Dortmund forward.