Barcelona Beats Manchester City To Sign Colombian Defender
REUTERS/John Vizcaino
Catalan club FC Barcelona have reached an agreement to sign the young 22-year-old defender Yerry Mina.
The current Palmeiras and Colombia defender will join the Blaugrana next January, as the deal has been struck between Barcelona and Palmeiras president Mauricio Galiotte and their sporting director Alexandre Mattos.
Furthermore, a report from Mundo Deportivo (via Marca) has also claimed that the player will be moving to Camp Nou at the end of the year – just like Gabriel Jesus – as his club wants to stay focused in the Copa Libertadores.
The fee, mentioned by Marca, is reported to be around €9 million and the youngster will sign a lucrative five-year contract with the club.
A few months back, the Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claimed that Manchester City were also scouting the Mina – who was voted the best defender in the Brazilian top-flight last year – but now it seems like the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach will have scout somewhere else.
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Pep Guardiola’s pursuit of the player does make sense as his defensive troop this season have been very unconvincing. John Stones, in particular, has been criticized a lot due to his extreme sloppiness on the pitch.
Barcelona, on the other hand, are also in need of a defensive reinforcement, as both Pique and Umtiti have been highly inconsistent and Mascherano is certainly not getting any younger.
Yerry, on his part, has been a key player for the Brazilian side since his arrival in May 2016. In his first season, he helped his side to win the Brasileirao for the first time since 1994 – when Rivaldo was a part of the club.
The 22-year-old has surely been an unexpected buy from Barcelona, but what they also need is an established defender – someone who can fill the void of Carles Puyol and rather than waiting until January next year, the Spanish giants should make a move for a veteran personnel in the summer.