Barcelona sign Turkish wonderkid with €400m release clause in contract

Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign wonderkid Emre Demir from Turkish club Kayserispor in a contract that will start from next year.

The 17-year-old is viewed as a child prodigy in the country and is one of the highest rated teenagers in European football.

Demir has previously had trials at both Barca and Paris Saint-Germain, and he is the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Turkish Super Lig.

His first - and so far only - league goal for the club came against Genclerbirligi on 9 November 2019, when he was aged 15 years and 299 days.

Emre Demir will join Barcelona from Kayserispor

The midfielder - who stands at only 5 ft 9 inches in height - is the latest arrival in the club's recruitment emphasis of signing talented teenagers from across Spanish and European football.

He joins just months after his namesake Yusuf Demir - no relation - joined from Rapid Vienna; the 18-year-old winger has already made four appearances for Ronald Koeman's side this campaign.

"FC Barcelona and Kayserispor have reached an agreement for the transfer of Emre Demir for a cost of €2million plus variables on a contract until 30 June 2027," the Catalan club confirmed in a statement.

"The buyout clause will be set at €400 million euros. The player will be staying at the Turkish club until the end of the present season, after which he'll be forming part of the Barça B setup."

The club's statement continued with a description of the player's style: "Demir is a skilful left-footed attacking midfielder who can also play anywhere in the frontline. Although he's essentially a playmaker, he also drops back to help with defensive duties.

"Being 1.75m tall, Demir uses his centre of gravity to make the best of his skills in the final quarter."

Barca's most successful signings in recent times have been defender Ronald Araujo and midfielder Pedri, who both arrived as relatively obscure youngsters from Uruguayan outfit Boston River and Las Palmas respectively.

The club's well documented economic problems have meant that they are no longer able to compete for established stars in European football and are now focused on recruiting a greater quantity of youth players who can be developed through the club's B team.

A host of first-team squad players had to exit the club this summer due to their greatly reduced wage budget - which is around a quarter of its value from just two seasons ago.

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic and Emerson Royal are among the hosts of players who have been sold or moved on over the past 12 months.