Barcelona have reached an agreement for Brazilian young gun Arthur from his side Gremio in a deal worth an estimated $63 million.

Catalan Daily Sport said that Barcalona had “taken an almost definitive step” in the recruitment of Arthur.

There have also been reports that the Director of Football at Barcelona flew into Porto Alegre to finalise the deal for Arthur who is said to be joining the club in January 2019.

This means that the 21 year old midfielder will be arriving at the Nou Camp in the winter transfer window of next season although some are saying that he may arrive earlier if the club is able to reduce the number of non-EU players currently in the squad.

Arthur was a star in last year’s Copa Libertadores against Argentine side Lanus, helping his side to a 3-1 victory on aggregate leading to the clubs third trophy in the competition.

However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding Arthur following a leaked image of him standing next to Fernandez in a Barcelona jersey despite still being under contract with Gremio.

The signing comes as Barcelona continue to look to rebuild following the departure of Neymar, after coming third in last years Ballon d’Or for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.

The Brazilian winger became the most expensive player in the world when signing the deal saying that he wanted to be the number one star of the team.

In news elsewhere, former Liverpool FC defender Gabriella Paletta is due to sign a two year deal with Jiangsu Suning of the Chinese Super League. Jiangsu Suning are currently coached by Italian Fabio Capello.

The defender terminated his contract from Italian club AC Milan last month after a mutual decision by both parties. The 32 year old Argentinian is currently a free agent.

It’s reported that Paletta visited the AC Milan training ground during the week to farewell his teammates before he left for China to join his new club.

Paletta has been capped three times by Italy and spent the 2006-07 season with Liverpool in the English premier League but only made the three appearances for the club.