Barcelona beat Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund to €2m Croatian wonderkid who 'caught the eye of every club in the world'

According to Sport, Barcelona defeated Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund to acquire the services of Lovro Chelfi from Croatian club NK Kustosija in Zagreb. After monitoring him for more than a year, the Catalans ended up emerging victorious in the quest and will pay a €2 million fee to the Zagreb-based side for the left-footed playmaker.

The 28-year-old playmaker will join the Barca reserves for pre-season; however, there is a slight chance he will get to train with the first team if manager Hansi Flick approves. In case that plan doesn’t get approval, he will not be loaned out but will feature for the reserves, as the club are confident he can adapt to their playing style. While Arsenal and Dortmund were attempting to land him, numerous Premier League clubs ended up speaking to his representatives.

His representative, Andy Bara, said in an interaction with Croatian media outlet HRT Sport: “Of course, he caught the eye of every club in the world that has a good youth system. He had six, seven serious options, but due to the style of football, we decided on a place where it might be the most difficult. That's life, you never know, if he doesn't make it there, he will break through somewhere else. It will be much easier for him from Barcelona. He deserved it with his work and honesty. I am glad that he is a Croatian player, that he is a Croatian national team player. I hope that he will progress even more and become a real player."

Barca sporting director Deco is exploring more such talents in the market, having had a difficult time bringing in new faces for the first team as the Catalan side missed out on top target Nico Williams.