Manchester City have confirmed they have beaten Barcelona to the signing of Brazil youth international Yan Couto from Coritiba.
Diario Sport cover the story, with a five-year contract – from this summer – being signed in Manchester with the deal being worth an upfront €6m plus a further €6m in instalments.
In January, Diario Sport drew on reports from Globoesporte and Yahoo Sports that City have doubled an offer from the Blaugrana for the defender.
It had been previously reported in both Globoesporte and El Mundo Deportivo drew on reports that a €5m deal to take the defender to the Camp Nou had been in the pipeline.
The teenager starred for Brazil in the recent Under-17 World Cup where he helped his nation win the tournament, despite receiving a straight red card in his first match.
The player is not the tallest – standing at just 1.68m – but is said to be lighting quick and to possess a lot of energy, both very technical and also skilled in attack.
Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal were said to be other clubs who have been interested in a deal for the teenage full-back.
The 17-year-old, however, has not yet made his debut for the Coritiba first-team but he is said to be one of the most highly rated players in his nation and was due to be out of contract in a year’s time – but this represents a record deal for Coritiba.
