Real Betis have told Barcelona striker Loren Moron will not leave the club for anything less than his €40m (£33.2m) release clause, claims Marca.
Barcelona are in the process of finding an emergency striker with Ousmane Dembele ruled out for the rest of the season.
Under LaLiga protocol, teams can sign players outside of the transfer window if one of their players suffers an injury that requires at least five months rehabiliation.
Dembele's latest injury was confirmed a few days after the January transfer window shut and therefore allows Barcelona to try and complete a signing within a 14-day period from another Spanish club.
Barcelona have already been linked with Real Sociedad frontman Willian Jose, who wanted to join Tottenham last month, and former Arsenal flop Lucas Perez.
However, it has now emerged their €15m (£12.5m) offer for Betis frontman Moron was shut down immediately by their league rivals.
Unlike Barcelona who can now sign a striker, Betis would not be able to sign a replacement for Moron until the summer and they are not interested in selling.
It means Barcelona would have to pay his release clause, which is unlikely given the financial mess the club is in, or concede defeat in their pursuit of the 26-year-old.
Moron has only started 14 league matches this season and made a further eight appearances as a substitute.
However, the Spanish striker has played a direct hand in 10 goals despite not being a first-team regular for Betis (eight goals, two assists).
He scored in Betis' 5-2 defeat away to Barcelona at the start of the season but last netted in LaLiga in November (vs Sevilla).
The release clause for Moron? Really? Can Barcelona reach "lower" than that? What about Rey Manaj?