Barcelona have reportedly completed a deal to sign highly-rated Montreal Impact wonderkid Ballou Tabla, who will join the club’s B squad.
Barcelona have made an official announcement confirming that a deal has been struck to bring Canadian youngster Ballou Tabla over to Spain. The Montreal Impact striker has agreed to join Barcelona and will slot into the club’s B squad under the tutelage of Gerrard Lopez in Liga Segunda.
Tabla passed his medicals at Barcelona on Thursday before penning a deal to become a Blaugrana player.
Tabla has agreed to a three-year contract at Barcelona, with an option embedded in his contract to extend it by a further two seasons. The 18-year-old has a €25 million release clause embedded in his contract, which will be present for the first three years. If Barcelona do take up the option of extending his contract, the release clause will then rise to €75 million.
Despite being born in Ivory Coast, the player has chosen not to represent his nation of origin and has instead opted to take the field for Canada up to the Under-20 level. There has been a few flurries here and there about Tabla looking to commit to Ivory Coast but nothing has been decided as yet, with the player eligible to represent either country as he has not taken the field for Canada or Ivory Coast in the senior level – not yet at least.
??Ballou’s first day as a ‘blaugrana’
??El primer dia de Ballou com a blaugrana
??El primer día de Ballou como azulgrana
➡ https://t.co/hajpmqmxLs #BarçaB #BeWelcome @LaLiga pic.twitter.com/xoh2uXAkwT— FC Barcelona B (@FCBarcelonaB) January 25, 2018
The player had kicked up quite a storm around his potential in the MLS, where he represented Montreal Impact. While a total of 2 goals and 2 assists in 21 MLS appearances does not do justice to the striker’s ability, it is his ability to work for the team and dexterity on the wings that seems to have caught everyone’s attention, none more so than Barcelona.
Tabla will join Gerrard Lopez’s Barcelona B side, who have been struggling in Liga Segunda so far. 24 points from 23 games so far does not represent a healthy tally for Lopez’s men, who also have a new crisis at hand, with Jose Arnaiz and David Concha both injured.
The injury restricts Lopez’s options to just Carles Perez. And while Barcelona have reportedly agreed to sign Nahuel on a loan deal until the end of the season to bolster their options, the arrival of Ballou Tabla will help a great deal as well.
It will be interesting to see how Tabla is able to get himself acclimatized to the new surroundings and whether he can be a viable option for the senior team in the years to come. For now, he is a prospect worth following.