Barcelona have reportedly completed the signing of highly-rated Real Valladolid winger Jose Arnaiz in a deal worth around €3.4 million.
According to Spanish publication Sport, Barcelona have completed the signing of highly-rated Real Valladolid winger Jose Arnaiz in a deal worth around €3.4 million. The player has reportedly signed a three-year deal at the club with an embedded option of extending it by two more years.
The transfer has since been confirmed by the club’s official website as Jose Arnaiz took to field for his first training session – around about the same time as big-money signing Ousmane Dembele, who joins Barcelona from Dortmund in a transfer that is a club record sale for a Bundesliga side.
José Arnáiz has signed for Barcelona B for 3 seasons with a release clause of 20 million. #WelcomeJose #BarcaNepal pic.twitter.com/4BcpVY7ZR4
— Barca Nepal (BFCN) (@barcanepal2013) August 29, 2017
22-year-old Arnaiz had become a regular for Real Valladolid only recently, with a record of 12 goals and 4 assists in a cumulative 42 appearances for the Spanish outfit. And it seems, the winger’s promise has been spotted by Barcelona, who have brought him in to be a part of their B side.
While the fee is reported to be around €3.4 million, it will shoot up to beyond €4 million if the player manages to break into the first-team setup at Barcelona or represent the Spanish national side.
Arnaiz also has a release clause of €20 million embedded in his Barcelona contract, a number that will double itself after the initial three years of his stay at his new club. Gerard Lopez has done a commendable job with Barcelona B, earning promotion back into La Liga B, or Liga Segunda as it was previously called.
The Catalan outfit added 19-year-old Swiss winger Jeremy Guillemenot on a free transfer earlier in the summer. But, Arnaiz, who has experience playing in the second division with Real Valladolid, will be an invaluable addition to the squad as Lopez aims to put together a good campaign for the B side.
Alternatively, the player could potentially be a direct replacement for the recently promoted Seung-Woo Lee, who has been linked with a move to Italy, mainly because of the regulations that allow just two Non-EU players to play in Segunda – the spots are likely to be taken up by recent arrivals Anthony Lozano and Vitinho.
Barcelona B have a squad studded with future superstars – home-grown talents like Carles Alena and Marc Cucurella, a prodigy in Vitinho and highly-rated arrivals like Santiago Bueno and David Concha among others.
Barcelona have signed this young talent called Jose Arnaiz he is a real talent. Welcome at Barcelona. #FORCABARCA pic.twitter.com/J0RAmhb84P
— Abdelrahman Emara (@Abdemara2511) August 29, 2017
It will be interesting to see how Arnaiz manages to make his mark in such a talented side and whether he can catch the eye of Ernesto Valverde or perhaps some other top outfit in Europe.