Barcelona sign Valencia’s Jeison Murillo on loan
FC Barcelona have completed a deal to sign Valencia centre-back Jeison Murillo on loan until the end of the season.
Talks took place between the two clubs to close the operation ahead of the January transfer window, with Valencia pushing for a fee in the region of €2 million for the six-month loan.
The deal will include an option for the move to be made permanent for a fee of €25m. It is unlikely Barcelona will exercise this option due to their desire to sign Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt in the summer, although things may change if Colombia international Murillo does well.
Despite Barca’s interest in de Ligt and his teammate Frenkie de Jong, Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar has stated that neither will leave in January.
Murillo, 26, who is out of favour at Valencia, where he has made just three appearances all season, has been targeted to provide cover for Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet.
Following meetings at the club this week, Barca decided to turn to the market due to injuries to Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen.
Umtiti has struggled with a knee problem for over half a year but has resisted surgery, and has spent the last two weeks in Qatar undergoing conservative treatment and hopes to return to training in the New Year.
However, the club are wary that surgery may prove necessary in the end. Umtiti’s last comeback attempt, against Atletico Madrid in November, lasted just one game.
Vermaelen, meanwhile, is out for the next month with a calf problem. The defender has suffered a number of injuries since joining Barca in 2014 and the club feel it would be risky to go into the second half of the season with him as their only backup to Pique and Lenglet.
The other option would be to use a centre-back from the B team. Chumi has been involved with the first team sporadically this season but sources say coach Ernesto Valverde is keen to have a more experienced option.
After watching Real Madrid win the Champions League in each of the last three years, Barca are desperate to win the competition again and do not want to risk coming up short in the latter stages due to a lack of cover.
Murillo joined Valencia from Inter Milan in 2017 for around €12m, making 18 appearances last season before being cast aside by coach Marcelino this term. Gabriel Paulista, Ezequiel Garay, Mouctar Diakhaby and Ruben Vezo have all been preferred ahead of him in recent weeks.
Moving to the Camp Nou may give him the chance to play more regularly ahead of this summer’s Copa America in Brazil, where he hopes to be part of the Colombia squad.
