Barcelona news: Ferran Torres arrival to be followed by 24-year-old forward's new deal

Barcelona are in for a double boost heading into the new year with Xavi Hernandez's wish to strengthen his frontline coming true. The Catalan club have reached an agreement with Manchester City to sign Ferran Torres, with the forward expected to be unveiled in the coming days.

Torres was Barcelona's top target, with talks having begun over a month back with the reigning Premier League champions. After an initial disagreement over the fee, the two clubs reached a compromise, which will now see the La Liga giants, who are supposedly cash-strapped, pay an initial fee of £46.8 million with a further £8 million in add-ons.

Apart from Torres' signing, Barcelona's other priority going into the January transfer window was to secure a new deal for Ousmane Dembele. The French forward's current deal expires next June, and the club have no intention of letting him leave on a free transfer.

Xavi has expressed his desire to keep Dembele at the club, and they have been in talks with the France international's representatives for a number of months. After initially making no breakthrough, Barcelona are said to be in advanced talks over reaching an agreement for a new deal and it could follow the Torres announcement.

The former Borussia Dortmund winger is not short of suitors, with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus and Bayern Munich ready to offer him a lucrative contract to join them on a free transfer next summer. Dembele will be allowed to talk to interested clubs outside England when the January transfer window commences on Saturday.

However, the Frenchman is said to be keen to remain at the Camp Nou and has agreed to take a pay cut in his new contract to help ease the club's financial woes. The 24-year-old recently dropped a major hint that he is nearing a new deal by posting an image of the Barcelona badge on his Instagram feed.

The 2018 World Cup winner is expected to sign a new long-term deal until 2026, which will include a number of performance related bonuses that could make him among the highest earning stars at the club. He will be following in the footsteps of highly-rated young stars Pedri and Ansu Fati in extending his deal with the Catalan giants.