Colombia’s Yerry Mina practicing at his former club Barcelona. Photo courtesy of Instagram/@yerymina
Colombia’s Yerry Mina had to wait until the last moment, but his future was finally decided on deadline day as he becomes the newest defender for the English Premier Leauge side Everton in a deal worth more than 30 million euros.
Following a frustrating season with Spanish powerhouse Barcelona in which he was not regularly included in the rotation, Mina made a name for himself on the world’s biggest stage with a spectacular showing in the World Cup. The central defender scored three goals – all from headers – in three straight games in Colombia’s run to the Round of 16 in Russia.
FC Barcelona confirmed the agreement with Everton on its team site Thursday.
“FC Barcelona and Everton FC have reached an agreement over the transfer of the player Yerry Mina,” the site reported. “The English club will pay FC Barcelona 30.25 million euros plus 1.5 million euros in variables. The Club reserves the right to buy back the player.
“FC Barcelona would like to publicly express their thanks to Yerry Mina for his commitment and dedication and wishes him all the best for the future,” it added.
Mina figures to be a Day One starter for Everton, which finished eighth in the league last year. Though the club may not be as high-profile and decorated as Barcelona, the English side should give the 23-year-old from Guachené the chance to develop his game on a consistent basis in one of the best leagues in the world as he tries to build on the favorable reputation he made for himself in Russia.
Joining Mina from Barcelona will be fellow transfers André Gomes and Lucas Digne who are also being shipped to Everton.
There had been speculation that Mina was a candidate to join Manchester United, which had been searching during the transfer window for a defender.
Mina will immediately help The Blues with his proclivity for knocking in headers off of set pieces and his ability to keep pace with some of the world’s best forwards, as he showed in Russia while shutting down Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane.
This article originally appeared on Colombia Focus.
