Barcelona’s newest signing Nelson Semedo has stated that after all the speculation, Barca was truly his first choice when deciding on a move.
Sergi Roberto did a serviceable job at right back for Barcelona last season. However, the Spaniard definitely played out of position. With Barca’s latest signing, Roberto can go back to playing his natural midfield position. The Blaugrana have signed 23-year-old Nelson Semedo from Benfica on a reported €30 million fee. After Dani Alves left the club, Barca had been searching for a new right back leading to playing Roberto out of position. Now, they have a natural right back to take his spot.
When he was introduced, Semedo talked about the interest from teams like Manchester City and Manchester United. Overall, the Portuguese defender always wanted to wear the Blaugrana colors. While the interest was good, when Barca came calling it was too good for Semedo to pass up. Here is what Semedo had to say at his presentation.
"“Barcelona was always my first option. I didn’t even think about any other offers. All players want to play for Barcelona and I’m no exception. I was really excited when I heard they wanted to sign me. I’m very proud to wear this shirt and I will do everything I can for this club. I already knew what a great club it is, but I have realized even more so today. I’m really happy the deal has been pushed through.”Semedo On Playing For Barcelona"
Overall, Barca searched everywhere for a natural right back. Names like Hector Bellerin from Arsenal appeared in transfer rumors. In the end, Sporting director Robert Fernandez got a good value signing out of Semedo. He sat along side Semedo and listened to his thoughts on joining the Catalans. In addition to that, he gave his own thoughts on the young Portuguese defender.
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"“I don’t like talking about first options. I’ve never looked at things as Plan A, Plan B. Nelson’s name came up very early because he has the physical and technical attributes we need and I don’t think he will have any problems adapting to the club. Yes, we did look at other players, but Nelson was a player we’d watched for a long time and finally we decided that he was the one we wanted. We chose him because he’s young, has a big future ahead of him and has been playing at the top-level for a year and a half.”Fernandez on Signing Semedo"
Next: Barca's Huge Offer For Verratti
Overall, signing Semedo was a good start to the transfer window. However, Barca shouldn’t be done just yet. Marco Verratti is still linked to the team. Reports are that Barca have to offer a player and 70 million Euros to sign Verratti. In the end, Barca got good value signing Nelson Semedo. While Manchester City signed Kyle Walker for around €50m, Semedo was signed for much less than that. The transfer window continues for the Blaugrana as the preseason begins soon.