According to Fabrizio Romano, FC Barcelona youngster Aron Yaakobishvili has signed his contract as a new UD Almeria player.
The 20-year-old La Masia shot-stopper will join the Spanish club on a season-long loan deal, with the agreement including a clause for them to buy 50% of the player’s economic rights from the Catalans next year.
Yaakobishvili bids goodbye
Yaakobishvili spent the last season away on loan at Andorra and made a decent impression, having been a regular starter for most of the campaign.
Having returned to Barcelona this summer, the Hungarian goalkeeper remained a part of the first-team dynamics during pre-season, even getting minutes in earlier friendly matches.
However, with time, it was made clear to the youngster that he would likely have to contend with the third-choice goalkeeping spot if he stayed at the club.
As such, Yaakobishvili decided to leave Barcelona to join a club where he can play regularly and continue his development.
The goalkeeper had been training away from the rest of the group in recent days and has now signed his contract with Almeria, with an official announcement likely to arrive soon.
While it was previously suggested that Yaakobishvili would be joining Almeria on a permanent transfer worth around €2-3 million, he signs for the second-division outfit on a loan deal, with an option to make the transfer permanent next year.
Even then, Barcelona will not relinquish total control of the player as the buy clause inserted is only for 50% of the player’s rights.
Goalkeeping clean-up continues
One of the important objectives for Deco and Hansi Flick coming into the summer was to clean up Barcelona’s goalkeeping department.
Aron Yaakobishvili is on his way to Almeria. (Picture credit: X/@fcandorra)
After all, the Catalans already had Joan Garcia and Wojciech Szczesny as first-team options while the likes of Inaki Pena, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Yaakobishvili were returning from loan.
Not to mention the young prospects within the club such as Diego Kochen, Ander Astralaga, and Eder Aller also in the picture.
The sporting department, though, has managed to clean up the situation efficiently. Pena was sold earlier in the summer while Astralaga left after his contract expired.
Kochen moved out on loan, while Ter Stegen also signed for Ajax on a loan deal. Now, Yaakobishvili is also on his way out.
Garcia will be the undisputed starter in goal for Barcelona, with Szczesny acting as cover. As for the third-choice spot, the plan is to rotate between Aller and Iker Rodriguez, who will keep moving between the first-team dynamics and Barça Atletic.