Barcelona have snapped up Villarreal winger Nahuel, who was currently on loan at Real Betis, on a loan till the end of the season.
According to Spanish publication Sport, Nahuel is set to join Barcelona on a loan till the end of the season. The Villarreal winger, who is currently on loan at Real Betis, is set to move to Nou Camp and will be slotted into the Barcelona B squad in what is a rare three-way agreement between the clubs.
Matias Nahuel Leiva, despite being born in Rosaria, Argentina, seems to have chosen Spain as the nation to represent – the player has featured for Spain at the Under-19 and Under-21 level – and has come through the ranks at Villarreal. The 21-year-old made his Villarreal debut in 2014 and went on to appear in 38 senior appearances before joining Real Betis on loan.
The loan deal to join Betis was a two-season deal, with the club having the option to make the move a permanent one. However, the move has not panned out well for Nahuel, with the player amassing just 19 appearances for Real Betis in over 18 months while not being able to open his tally at all in the aforementioned games.
Another highlight is the fact that a majority of the 19 appearances have come from the bench, which does not bode well for Nahuel and his progression.
[Barça B] SPORT:
Argentine-Spanish winger Matías Nahuel (21) will join Barça B on loan shortly. It’s expected he’ll have his medical and be announced as a Barça player tomorrow. The agreement is almost complete; the only thing left is for the club’s to agree on a purchase option. pic.twitter.com/Y0LGWRv9xb— ᵁᴸᵀᴿᴬ® (@UltraAutistic) January 23, 2018
Barcelona B are very short of options on the wings. Gerrard Lopez had just three wingers available at his disposal – Jose Arnaiz, David Concha and Carles Perez. But the first two options have now succumbed to injury, thus accentuating the need to add a winger to their squad.
While Nahuel is predominantly a right winger – just like Carles Perez – the 21-year-old has the ability to play on the left as well, which makes him a more than ideal addition.
According to the report, the player will join Barcelona B on loan till the end of the season and while most of the details have been churned out, Nahuel’s medical is the only thing left apart from Barcelona and Villarreal agreeing on embedding an option to make the deal permanent and the fee threshold that will activate the same.
The deal is pretty rare as it involves two different steps. The first part sees termination of the deal between Villarreal and Real Betis while the second part sees Villarreal and Barcelona agree to the loan deal.
Nahuel will be pumped and looking forward to donning the Blaugrana colours, albeit for the B side. Also, after being frustrated at the lack of playing time, he could finally be able to take the field in a more regular manner. Who knows, he might just lock himself a permanent move, if the loan deal pans out well.
