According to a report from respected Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio this evening, Spanish giants Barcelona have found an agreement with Palmeiras regarding the transfer of Yerry Mina.

Mina, a 23-year-old central defender with nine international caps (and 3 goals) for Colombia to his name, has been labelled a star of the future in South America for some time now, and was named the best defender in the Brazilian top-flight in 2016.

The 6ft 5 inch stopper’s agent was quoted last year admitting that a preliminary deal had been put in place to take Mina to the Camp Nou for the summer of this year, though reports have since been rife that the Blaugrana have long been keen to push the move forward.

And, as per the aforementioned report from Gianluca Di Marzio this evening, it looks as though the La Liga leaders have done just that, after agreeing to pay 15 million Euro to Palmeiras (previous fee had been touted as 9 million) to ensure that Mina arrives with immediate effect.

If confirmed, the move will spell the end of Javier Mascherano’s time in Catalunya, with the Argentine veteran having already agreed on a 10 million Euro transfer to Chinese Super League outfit Hebei Fortune.

In a classy gesture, Mascherano reportedly requested for his move to be put on hold until Barcelona had found a replacement for him, with Samuel Umtiti having spent the last month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury and the former Liverpool man keen not to leave his long-time employers with a defensive crisis.