The Catalans have officially announced the deal for Brazilian Arthur Melo.
Barcelona have been chasing the Gremio midfielder since his stunning performances in Copa Libertadores. The player was also pictured in Barca jersey in December and his arrival was imminent. The club made an official announcement on their social media accounts regarding the transfer.
The Catalans can exercise the option to purchase the player in July 2018. The Spanish giants will have to pay €30m for the player which can go up to €39m in the future, with €9m in bonuses.
It can be said that the Catalans have truly turned their season around. The team was beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Real Madrid, Neymar was gone, the new manager was nowhere near the high-profile name needed at Barcelona and the fans had no expectations for the 2017-18 season.
Fast forward to March 2018, the same manager has almost clinched the league for the Catalans and Neymar now wants to come back to the Camp. But most importantly the club has started building a team for the future. After signing Dembele and Coutinho, the Spanish giants have announced the arrival of Arthur Melo, who is just 21-year old and can fit perfectly into Barcelona style football.
The Brazilian has an ability to dominate the midfield with his ball control and accurate passing. The midfielder made 93.1% successful passes in Gremio’s title-winning season, a stat, which would make any Barca midfielder proud. The player will continue playing for Gremio until Barca trigger their €30m clause. Arthur is fighting for a place in World Cup squad as Selecao manager Tite is huge of the player.
The Camp Nou outfit would be expecting a lot from the youngster and they have all the reasons to do so. Barca’s very own Xavi called him a player with Barca DNA. The defensive midfielder at Gremio, Arthur loves to keep the ball at his feet and loses the opposition man with a flair that only Sergio Busquets can match. The Brazilian also likes to go ahead and deliver a picture perfect ball in the final third.
To explain it in simple words, Arthur possesses the abilities of legendary midfield trio Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets. (Man! Barca’s future is in safe hands)
[BREAKING NEWS] Agreement for Arthur transfer. https://t.co/KZWyOoVj52
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 11, 2018
The signing of Arthur comes as a bad news for the likes of Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez. The the new signing could push them further down the pecking order.
Author’s Take:
The Catalans have turned around the not only this season, but many more seasons to come. With the signing of the Iniesta-kind of player, there is no doubt that Barcelona’s midfield will continue to play and dominate on the pitch like it used to in Pep’s days.
