The 22-year-old is becoming something of a hot property, having attracted the interests of big European clubs with his solid displays for Palmeiras
The Blaugrana’s will have to fight off competition from Manchester City if the Spanish giants are to sign Palmeiras’ 22-year-old defender, Yerry Mina, reports Barcelona’s mouth-piece Mundo Deportivo (h/t Sport Witness)
Earlier, Yerry Mina’s agent, Jair Mina, had confirmed to Colombian network, Caracol Radio that a pre-agreement between his client and Barcelona has been reached, and there was a good chance the player would eventually join the Catalans after the Brasileirão season ended.
The agent, who happens to be Yerry Mina’s uncle, however added an agreement with Barcelona doesn’t bind the player to the club as it’s only a pre-agreement and not a complete deal. This essentially meant that Yerry Mina is still free join any other club if their offer suited or tempted the defender.
The centre-back’s performances are not going unnoticed, having already attracted the interests of Manchester City, Bayern Munich and AC Milan among others for the his signature. The latter two clubs, reported by Sport (h/t Goal), have had scouts to monitor his recent outings and have inquired about a possibility of a transfer with the club.
Mundo Deportivo reports a close associate of Txiki Begiristain, Manchester City’s Director of football, contacted Palmeiras to explore the possibility of acquiring Yerry Mina.
Manchester City had signed Palmeiras’ young sensation Gabriel Jesus in the summer for a good amount, which gives them some advantage for Yerry Mina over others.
Palmeiras have set a price-tag of €30 million for the defender, however, Barcelona by virtue of the pre-agreement, have a preferential option to sign Yerry Mina for €9 million in 2017, €10 million in 2018, and €12 million in 2019.
Yerry Mina has already appeared for the Colombian national team on four occasions. With a dearth of quality defenders, it seems Mina’s stock is only going to rise. No wonder top European teams want to pounce early on the highly-rated defender.
