Barcelona one step away from signing promising Ecuadorian defender | OneFootball

FC Barcelona seem to be following a double-pronged strategy in the transfer market. They are looking to make some high-profile additions to their team, and have already signed the English winger Anthony Gordon, while also signing younger players to develop them with the reserve team before they would make their way to the first team.

This latter aspect is quite clear from their signing of Hamza Abdelkarim, which they recently completed by exercising his purchase option after he had spent the last season on loan with the Blaugrana club. Meanwhile, they were reportedly to be close to signing another player, Jorge Salinas, but this operation has complicated a bit in the last few days.

Meanwhile, they are also close to completing the signing of another young defender, i.e., the Ecuadorian fullback Josue Caicedo. According to SPORT, citing the journalist Nicolo Schira, the defender has already signed all the documents related to his loan transfer to Barcelona, and as things stand, only the official confirmation remains before this transfer is fully completed.

The Ecuadorian has signed a four-year contract with the Catalan club, which will remain in force till 2030, and his current club, LDU Quito, will retain the right to have 20% of any income obtained for any future sale.

For now, the Blaugranes are planning for him to join Juliano Belletti’s Barcelona Atletic team, which would help him adapt to European football while also getting regular minutes. However, the sporting department is counting on him to make his way to the first team in the coming years.

With this operation, Barcelona have secured a player who can turn out to be a valuable asset for them in the future in a risk-free way, as they have the option to get him permanently by exercising a €2.5 million release clause, an option that would become mandatory if Josue Caicedo plays four matches with the first team.