Espanyol have confirmed the signing of Villarreal midfielder Wakaso Mubarak, who will pen a four-year deal at Cornella El-Prat.
The Catalans have paid €300,000 for the 21-year-old Ghanaian, with Villarreal retaining a percentage of his rights in case of any future sale.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino is understood to have been closely monitoring Wakaso for the last couple of seasons and was close to signing him when he left Elche for El Madrigal in January 2011 after several alleged bouts of indiscipline, before Villarreal stepped in with an offer of around €1.5m.
Able to play in central midfield or on the left, Wakaso’s incorporation into Pochettino’s squad may be seen as something of a gamble, given he has only limited La Liga experience having started just twice, but his physicality and technique make him a player of huge potential.
Wakaso began his senior career with Ashanti Gold in his native country, moving abroad in 2008 to join Elche, and represented Ghana at the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Championships in Peru.
