According to reports in Spain, Barcelona have taken up their option to buy Colombian centre-half Yerry Mina. The Catalan side had an agreement in place with the player’s current club Palmeiras to take his signature for €9M and Sport claims that this has now been activated.
 

The 22-year-old will not arrive at the Camp Nou until January and will stay with his current side in Brazil. He is currently recovering from a foot injury and is not expected to play again until September.
 

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde is desperate to bring in more defensive cover with only Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique automatic choices at present. Argentine Javier Mascherano’s best days are behind him and another youngster, Marlon, is still a relatively unknown prospect.
 

Pique was brutal in his assessment of the current state of the club after their 5-1 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup claiming that the Blaugrana were behind their bitter rivals for the first time in nearly ten years.