Barcelona youngster Marc Cucurella will see Eibar exercise their option to buy on him following his loan spell at the club this season.
The 20-year-old impressed for the La Liga outfit, scoring two goals and providing two assists in 33 appearances, showing his versatility too by playing as a left-back or further up the flank.
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It was enough to earn interest from other clubs, including AC Milan as per Calciomercato, but it appears as though they may now have missed out on his signature.
As noted by Eibar’s official site, they have confirmed that they’ve opted to exercise a purchase option in Cucurella’s loan deal, and so will sign him outright from Barcelona.
However, it remains to be seen how the situation develops, as Marca have also reported previously that Barcelona are likely to exercise their buy-back option on him, and so Cucurella could ultimately return to the Nou Camp after all.
It’s noted in that report that it’s a deal that could effectively cost Barcelona €3m, and so they’ll have to be sure that it’s worth the investment and that Cucurella has impressed enough to warrant a chance to impress under Ernesto Valverde next season.
Given the lack of quality depth behind Jordi Alba to play at left-back, it’s surely a sensible decision from the reigning La Liga champions, as changes are expected this summer now after they fell short in both the Champions League and Copa del Rey.
While Cucurella won’t make a huge impact given his position and role, he could be a wise addition to the squad to allow the coach to rotate when necessary having now gained experience of playing regularly in La Liga.
