Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach reportedly rejected an approach from Barcelona for star man Alassane Plea during the January transfer window.
The 27-year old has caught the eye for Marco Rose’s side so far this season, in both domestic and Europa League games.
However, the German side a determined to keep hold of the French international, and according to reports from Bild, they turned down interest from the Catalan giants during the winter market.
Quique Setien’s side were keen to add to their attacking options following season ending injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.
However, the report states that sporting director Max Eberl was willing to do a deal in the region of €40-50M for the former Lyon man.
But given the lack of time before the window was to shut, Rose pulled the plug on any potential deal.
Barcelona then completed the controversial signing of Martin Braithwaite from Leganes, after a La Liga ruling permitted an emergency signing outside of the window.
However, despite their previous interest in Plea, Barcelona have not shown any signs of a summer move, with Braithwaite now committed to the club until 2024.