Barcelona have confirmed the loan signing of Sevilla striker Luuk de Jong and have the option to make the deal permanent.
The 31-year-old brings a wealth of experience as he makes his move to the Camp Nou.
He won four league titles in the Netherlands with Twente and PSV and was part of Sevilla’s 2020 Europa League winning squad.
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De Jong scored twice in the final against Inter Milan as his side ran out 3-2 victors.
The striker also represented Holland at Euro 2020, making two appearances as they were knocked out by the Czech Republic in the first knockout round.
He also has experience playing in the German Bundesliga for Borussia Monchengladbach.
During his time at Gladbach he was loaned out to Newcastle United for the second half of the 2013/14 season.
He scored zero goals during his time on Tyneside.
🍊 Old friends
💙❤️ @LuukdeJong9 & @Memphis pic.twitter.com/xXJd3cqwiR— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 1, 2021
Last term for Sevilla the player made 48 appearances, scoring nine goals and providing one assist.
Barcelona have been struggling financially in recent months, limiting themselves signing players on loan or as free agents.
The Catalan club signed Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero on free transfers and brought in de Jong and young winger Yusuf Demir in on loan, with both deals including an option to buy.
They did pay a transfer fee for right-back Emerson Royal at the start of the window, but only so they could try and sell him for a profit later on in the window.
And they did just that – selling the Brazilian to Tottenham for £25.8m.
Barca’s financial issues meant they were unable to offer star man Lionel Messi a new contract.
Messi was poised to sign a new deal when he returned to the club after his Copa America triumph but has since joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
Their financial issues have occurred due to poor transfer dealings in recent seasons.
Antoine Griezmann joined from Atletico Madrid in 2019 as Barca met his €120m buyout clause.
His astronomical wages – on top of the transfer fee – contributed towards crippling the LaLiga club as they desperately attempted to raise funds for the summer transfer window.
The Frenchman returned to Atletico on deadline day on a season-long loan deal with a compulsory permanent transfer clause.