Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Austrian wunderkind Yusuf Demir on a season-long loan with an option to purchase the 18-year-old at the end of the term.
As confirmed on the club’s official website, Barcelona have completed the signing of teenage attacking midfielder Yusuf Demir on loan from Austrian outfit Rapid Vienna. The Blaugrana retain the option of making the transfer permanent at the end of the season.
Demir, an attacking midfielder, who can also play on the wings, as well as a centre-forward, started out at the academy of First Vienna FC before linking up with the Rapid youth setup in 2013. Having risen through the ranks rapidly, Demir made his first-team debut for the Austrian outfit in December 2019.
Demir went on to feature six times in total in 2019/20, contributing with a solitary assist. However, the teenager saw more regular first-team action in the 2020/21 campaign, making 32 appearances across all competitions, in which he chipped in with an impressive tally of nine goals and three assists.
On the back of his impressive performances for Rapid Vienna, Demir even got his first cap for the Austrian national team in March earlier this year. The 18-year-old had been on Barcelona’s radar for quite a while now, and they have now finally gone out and signed the teenager, as revealed by the club’s official media channels on Friday.
?? New signing for @FCBarcelonaB!
✍ Yusuf Demir? @skrapid | Red Ring Shotshttps://t.co/FR1nKetO7x
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 9, 2021
As per the agreement with Rapid Vienna, Demir will be joining Barcelona on loan for the 2021/22 season, with the Catalans paying a fee of €500,000 for the deal. In addition to that, the Blaugrana have a non-mandatory option to make the 18-year-old’s transfer permanent next year for a fee of €10 million.
Demir is expected to join up with the Barcelona B team for the upcoming season under new manager Sergi Barjuan. The 18-year-old will take his medical and fitness tests at the weekend along with nine other players from the Catalans’ B team and link up with the senior squad for the pre-season for 2021/22, which is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Barcelona have been focusing on strengthening their B team this summer, having already signed Ferran Jutgla, with Demir now becoming the latest addition. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 18-year-old gets minutes with the first-team at Camp Nou this term.
