- Barcelona reportedly close to securing €40m signing ahead of summer window
- Catalan giants heavily linked with swoop for Gremio starlet Arthur Melo
- Player himself has now revealed that he’s closing in on agreement
- READ MORE: Lionel Messi supports major Barcelona swap deal for €100m summer target
Barcelona are seemingly closing in on the signing of midfielder Arthur Melo from Gremio, as the player himself has revealed it could be announced soon.
The Catalan giants have an issue in midfield moving forward, as Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Paulinho all turn 30 this year.
The trio undoubtedly have much more left in the tank, but as Barca have done elsewhere in the squad with the signings of Yerry Mina and Ousmane Dembele, they’ve got to get younger and have a long-term plan.
It appears as though Arthur forms an important part of that vision, as according to Mundo Deportivo, the Brazilian starlet has revealed that he expects a deal to be wrapped up, perhaps as early as next week.
“We’re close to an agreement. There are some issues that still need discussions, but next week we wait for something positive to be achieved,” he is quoted as saying in the report.
It had been suggested by Sport this week that Barcelona could spend up to €40m on the 21-year-old, while he won’t join the club until January 2019.
That’s partly down to the fact that they’ve filled their non-EU quota, but it makes sense for more than one reason as he’ll undoubtedly benefit from either staying in Brazil or joining another European club on loan.
Arthur will have the opportunity to further develop his qualities and prepare himself for the Nou Camp, rather than joining immediately and perhaps sitting on the bench and not improving and gaining match experience.
It remains to be seen what happens with the smaller details, but ultimately it sounds as though Arthur is close to becoming a Barcelona player.