Roma agree deal for Barcelona youngster

AS Roma have agreed a deal to sign Carles Perez from Barcelona, according to several reports in Spain.

The 21-year-old forward is still under contract with the Catalan club’s B team, but he was expected to make the next step soon under Ernesto Valverde. However, with Valverde now out of the picture, Perez has been informed that he has no place in the plans of the newly appointed Quique Setien.

Having failed in their pursuit of Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri, Roma were reportedly keen on Adnan Januzaj of Real Sociedad, but at the moment Perez seems the likeliest option. The two clubs have agreed an initial loan deal with an option to buy at the end of the season, though the player is yet to give his consent.

Barcelona are still on the hunt for a new forward themselves, with Luis Suarez out of action for several months. At the moment, they’re linked most heavily with Valencia’s Rodrigo Moreno, having established that they have no players of sufficient quality to promote from within – an obvious indicator of the situation Perez has found himself in.