Barcelona are set to complete the signing of Nelson Semedo in a €35 million deal, having reached an agreement with Benfica.
Barcelona have made an official statement to confirm that they have inched a step closer to complete the signing of Nelson Semedo this summer. The Catalan club have reached an agreement with Benfica to secure the services of the Portuguese defender, with the completion of the move subject to a medical.
Semedo’s stock has skyrocketed after a season in which he established himself as a key figure for Benfica, while becoming a regular fixture in the Portugal national side. A typically modern full-back, he is solid and reliable at the back while also being a steady contributor to his team’s cause.
In the recently concluded season, Semedo made a staggering 47 appearances for Benfica, chipping in with 2 goals and 12 assists. And having played an instrumental role in Benfica’s Liga NOS triumph last season, the 23-year-old rightly commanded interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
[BREAKING NEWS] Agreement with Benfica to sign Nélson Semedo, pending medical tests tomorrow in Barcelona https://t.co/o5ldP2I5ke pic.twitter.com/JjQdQ3q1pF
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 13, 2017
Barcelona, though, have won the race to sign him this summer, having reached an agreement with Benfica to complete the player’s transfer. And as per Spanish outlet Sport, Semedo will sign a five-year deal at Camp Nou, with the Blaugrana shelling out €35 million to the Portuguese giants.
The completion of the move will come as a huge relief for Barcelona supporters who saw their club struggling to replace Dani Alves upon his departure from Camp Nou last summer.
Aleix Vidal, who was brought in as the Brazilian’s replacement, has not managed to adapt to the challenges at Barcelona thus far, and he saw himself being replaced in the first-team setup by compatriot Sergi Roberto, who was deployed in a makeshift right-back role throughout the 2016/17 season.
While the 25-year-old Spaniard did excel for large parts of the campaign in an alien role, he was often left exposed for his lack of pace. Roberto, though, is set to be deployed in a more familiar central midfield role by Ernesto Valverde this season, which made addition of a right-back a priority for the Barcelona boss.
His primary target had reportedly been Hector Bellerin, but Arsenal made it clear that the former Barcelona man was not for sale. Thus, they turned their attention back to Semedo, with sporting director Robert Fernandez accelerating the process of snapping him up before pre-season games begin.
At 23, Semedo can potentially be a long-term solution at the right side of the Barcelona defence, much like Alves was during his eight-year spell at Camp Nou. And with just the medical left before his move can be completed, the player will soon be a Barcelona player, and it remains to be seen if he can be the solution that they have been looking for.
