Barcelona are set to complete the full purchase of Real Betis full-back Emerson Royal this year and will then sell him to the Premier League.
The 21-year-old initially joined the Blaugrana in January 2019 from Atletico Mineiro in a reported €12.7m deal in a convoluted operation in which both Barcelona and Real Betis paid for half that sum each.
Both clubs now co-own the right-back but he has exclusively played for Betis since his arrival, with Barca’s option to sign him permanently for €6m set to kick in from the summer of 2021. This means that the Catalan club would likely have to pay Betis a higher sum to complete the deal this year.
As Diario Sport highlight, Betis fear they will lose the Brazilian this summer and have already pre-empted the move by agreeing a deal to sign Chilean international Mauricio Isla, whose contract at Fenerbahce has expired.
This is despite Betis chairman Angel Haro saying last month, as cited by El Mundo Deportivo: “I do not contemplate the departure of Emerson.”
Mundo Deportivo go further and say that while Emerson will officially move to the Camp Nou this summer, it is with an eye to a permanent sale to the Premier League.
Everton, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham all have eyes for the wing-back and his sale will solely be used to raise funds for the Catalan club.
