CD Leganes have announced the loan signing of Middlesbrough forward Martin Braithwaite until the end of the season, ahead of the La Liga season getting back underway this weekend.
Since signing for 'Boro in 2017, the Danish international has managed nine goals in 40 appearances, but heads out on loan for the second time as the La Liga side look to shore up their squad for a relegation battle in the coming months.
CESIÓN I El C.D. Leganés incorpora al internacional danés Martin Braithwaite hasta final de temporada #BienvenidoMartin
— C.D. Leganés (@CDLeganes) January 3, 2019
▶️ https://t.co/ItsBWe4eWt pic.twitter.com/vG7vMDEDHY
They announced in a statement that Braithwaite joins from the Championship promotion hopefuls until the end of the season, and will wear the number 25 shirt, while highlighting the player's international pedigree as one of his primary assets.
He has appeared 29 times for Denmark since his debut in 2013, and started against both France and Croatia at the World Cup in the summer.
Despite his international prominence, however, he has struggled to live up to the lofty expectations that came with his high profile move to England in 2017.
Having scored 40 goals in 149 appearances for Toulouse, his arrival at Middlesborough saw him fail to settle in initially, and he was back in France for a loan spell with Bordeaux by January, in which he scored four goals.
His move away is not wholly unexpected, with manager 'Boro manager Tony Pulis admitting earlier in the week that he expected Braithwaite to leave the club.
"Braithwaite is talking to Leganes. The club who were interested in him in the summer. We think that will happen," Pulis said, as quoted by Middlesbrough's official website.
.@MartinBraith has joined @CDLeganes on loan until the end of the season
— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) January 3, 2019
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“I have not had a lot of time with him, I had two or three weeks before he went last season on loan, and four or five months this season. Good luck if he wants to go. He wanted to go in the summer. He has got his move now.”
He departs The Riverside Stadium having started 12 Championship games so far this season, but he is without a league goal since August. His first assignment in Spain will see him travel to Espanyol, before a Copa del Rey last 16 clash with Real Madrid.
Source : 90min