Barcelona agree transfer fee for promising Brazilian midfielder – Reports

Barcelona have reached an agreement with Gremio for their star midfielder Arthur Melo according to reports from ESPN. The Brazilian is expected to join the La Liga leaders in January 2019 whilst a move in the coming has also not been ruled out.

The deal is set to cost Barcelona €30 million upfront and can go up to €40 million based on add-ons and other incentive bonuses. This should look like a bargain for the Catalans after the Brazilian side had earlier stood firm on a €50 million asking price for their prized asset.

Gremio, however, own only 60% of Arthur’s rights. The rest of the money is set to go to his investor – Celso Rigo and his family. In recent times, the player’s family has admitted that they would not take any sum from the transfer – a big reason why many believe that Gremio has lowered their valuation of the player.

The midfielder has been linked to many clubs in the summer of 2017 with Chelsea and Manchester United reportedly looking to make a deal for the 21-year-old. However, it now seems that the Catalans have beaten interest from the Premier League giants for Arthur’s signature.

Brazil has been a happy hunting ground for Barcelona of late in terms of recruitment. The La Liga leaders made waves off the pitch with their attempts to sign Neymar and Philippe Coutinho in recent years. Compared, to those transfers this one seems to have been done under the radar.

Barca have recruited heavily this season to bolster their frontline with Ousmane Dembele, Paulinho and Coutinho brought in to replace Neymar – who departed for PSG in the summer.

Arthur would, however, add strength to a different position in the field. Known to be a tenacious worker and a box-to-box midfielder – he would help add industriousness to the centre of the park for Barcelona.

The player was seen pictured in a Barcelona shirt last month. However, rumours that a deal had been struck was immediately quashed by Gremio. The incident, however, was more than a subtle hint from the midfielder as to where he sees his future lie.

And after long periods of negotiations, Barcelona look to have finally succeeded in hitting the bullseye. For Melo, it would be a dream come true as well to play for the club he has been an admirer of.