Barcelona make surprise signing of Portuguese wunderkind

OEIRAS, PORTUGAL - JANUARY 4: Francisco Trincao of SC Braga during the Liga NOS match between Belenenses SAD and SC Braga at Estadio Nacional on January 4, 2020 in Oeiras, Portugal. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
OEIRAS, PORTUGAL - JANUARY 4: Francisco Trincao of SC Braga during the Liga NOS match between Belenenses SAD and SC Braga at Estadio Nacional on January 4, 2020 in Oeiras, Portugal. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Barcelona reportedly beat out both Manchester City and Chelsea for Francisco Trincao.

Barcelona made a surprise signing when the club announced that they had reached a deal with Sporting Braga for 20-year-old Francisco Trincao.

According to Diario Sport, the Catalans agreed to pay €31 million for the young forward. He signed a five-year deal with a release clause of €500 million and is set to arrive in the summer.

More from Everything Barca

Sport claimed that one of the reasons the La Liga champions felt compelled to sign him now is due to the interest from other sides.

Specifically, Manchester City and Chelsea.

The Barca scouts were impressed by his qualities and believe that he has what it takes to succeed.

They also did not want to lose out on him like they lost the Brazilian Yan Couto.

Barcelona believed they had signed Couto until Manchester City swooped in with a better deal.

In Portugal, he’s been compared to Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He is an attacking player who can play anywhere in the attack. With Braga, he’s played mostly on the right-wing.

Trincao is a signing for the future and should not have an impact in their search for an established striker in the summer. But like with any signing, especially with a relative unknown, questions will arise as to whether the money was wisely spent. However, in this new market, clubs need to spend more to acquire promising young talent.

Trincao was not the club’s only signing as they apparently also completed a move for Palmeiras’ Matheus Fernandes. Barcelona have loaned him out to Real Valladolid for the rest of the season and the player himself has updated his Instagram account to reflect the move.

dark. Next. Premier League club reject stunning Barca offer

Whether Trincao, or Fernandes, work out is a risk the Blaugrana felt willing to make. Whether they do or not, only time will tell.