Barcelona announce signing of highly-rated teenage midfielder

Barcelona are not planning any further signings for the first team, but they are continuing to strengthen the youth squads. And they have got a little bit more stronger following confirmation of a new signing.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Barcelona had reached an agreement to sign Lovro Chelfi, who is considered to be one of the pearls of Croatian football. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder is rated incredibly highly in his homeland, and he will now continue his career in Catalonia.

On Tuesday, Barcelona made it official that Chelfi had signed, and they also confirmed that he would be starting his time at the club with the U19 squad.

“(We have reached an) agreement with NK Kustosija for the transfer of the player Lovro Chelfi to Barcelona. He joins the Juvenil A squad.”

Chelfi can make a name for himself at Barcelona

Chelfi follows in the footsteps of the likes of Ivan Rakitic and Alen Halilovic as a Croatian player to sign for Barcelona, and he will hope to make a career similar to that of the former. He will start in the impressive U19 squad, who won the UEFA Youth League last season, and he will have chances to rise his profile within La Masia – especially since Hansi Flick regularly keeps an eye on the club’s younger players.

It will be interesting to see how Chelfi gets on at Barcelona. He will have time on his side to make an impression in the Catalan capital, although it will be tough to break into the first team in the years to come given how much competition there already is for the attacking midfield position.

Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez and Raphinha are some of the options in the first team, while Guille Fernandez – who is considered one of La Masia’s biggest talents – also operates in the position. However, Chelfi will be up for the challenge.