Barcelona Sign Defender Yerry Mina From Palmeiras

FC Barcelona have signed Colombia center-back Yerry Mina from Brazilian side Palmeiras, the Catalan club announced.

The 23-year-old Colombia international signed a 5-year contract for the Spanish giants on Thursday for a fee of 11.8 million euros ($14m).

Mina made 33 appearances for Palmeiras over the last two seasons, helping them win the league title in 2016. The young star also won the Copa Sudamericana with former club Santa Fe.

He will be Barcelona’s second signing of the January transfer window after Philippe Coutinho’s 160 million-euro capture from English topflight, Liverpool.

The 6ft 5in (1.95m) Colombian is set to fill the void left by Javier Mascherano, who is on the verge of a €10m switch to China’s Hebei Fortune.

“Yerry Mina now comes to Barca with the opportunity to continue developing as a footballer following his move to Europe. Without a doubt the Colombian has the potential to make it,” The Spanish giants said in a statement on their website.

Barcelona has a termination clause worth €100 million attached to Mina’s contract.