Barcelona Transfer News, Rumors: Douglas Pereira to Join Squad in 2015
Barcelona FC has just acquired the rights to Sao Paulo's right-back Douglas Pereira. The deal has already been agreed upon but Pereira won't be arriving in Barcelona until the 2015-2016 season.
The transfer was reported to have cost €8 million and Pereira will be replacing Dani Alves when his contract expires. The deal was already confirmed by a football journalist Sergi Dominguez in his tweet on August 18.
"Douglas to Barcelona nearing completion. The Brazilian could stay at Sao Paulo for another season and join Barca in 2015 summer," Dominguez said in his tweet.
In the meantime, Barcelona has not found a new club for Alvez with the initial thought that Liverpool might be a likely suitor. Alvez' agent has confirmed that it was not to be which means that the player will be staying in Barcelona until further notice.
Pereira's alleged replacement to Alvez is still farfetched since the Brazilian player is still not seen as a star player back in his homeland. Pereira is way behind Alvez in terms of worth but it may just be that Barcelona is setting up an insurance since Alvez won't be signing a new deal in the span of 12 months.
The move by the club may be a premature one but the acquisition is not at all ill-made. Pereira is a good all-around player able to play anywhere on the right-hand side of the field and this quality might have been what appealed to Luis Enrique. The Brazilian right-back is most comfortable at the right midfield and would be a strong player for Barcelona.
