Barcelona prospect Adama Traore 'rejects' Liverpool loan move to sign for Aston Villa

Aston Villa have announced the signing of Adama Traore, the Barcelona winger who has been long linked with a possible loan move to Premier League rivals Liverpool.

Having reportedly flown to England for a medical earlier this week, the 19 year old's permanent switch to the EPL on a five-year contract was confirmed by Villa via their official website on 14 August.

Barcelona provided further details as to the financial aspects of the agreement, revealing that they have received an initial €10m (£7.1m, $11.1m) by way of a transfer fee that will rise by a further €2m if various add-ons are met.

The La Liga champions were quick to stress that they reserve the right to purchase him back for an unspecified price during the first three years of that aforementioned deal and will have first refusal on any transfer beyond that period.

"He's someone I have been tracking for a long time," Villa boss Tim Sherwood said of Traore ahead of his team's first home fixture of the season, against Manchester United.

"He's physically a man – and he has been for some time. He's a big powerful boy, very quick, dynamic and a maverick-type player. Those players are few and far between. We're delighted he has chosen Villa to continue his development."

Traore is the ninth player to arrive at Villa Park during Sherwood's first summer window at the club, following the signings of Jordan Ayew, Jordan Amavi, Jordan Veretout, Idrissa Gueye, Rudy Gestede, Micah Richards, Mark Bunn and Jose Angel Crespo. Scott Sinclair has also returned to the Midlands after a successful spell on loan from Manchester City.

"It's an honour for me to come here," he said. It's a club that showed interest in me from the first moment and made me feel important in terms of their project.

"I have spoken to the manager and have a very good impression of him and what he wants from me. All this has made this club my top attraction. I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone at Barcelona for helping me develop as a player and as a person."

Following Xherdan Shaqiri's decision to leave Inter for Stoke in a club-record £12m transfer, this is the second time in the space of a week that a player believed to be on Brendan Rodgers' radar has eventually agreed terms elsewhere.

Catalan radio sources in late July claimed that representatives from Liverpool had travelled to Barcelona in the hope of sealing a loan deal for Traore, with the former Spanish youth international also believed to have attracted attention from the likes of Manchester United and Everton.

Sky Sports even went as far as to claim this week that the player had actually snubbed a potential switch to Liverpool in order to join Villa. While it remains to be seen if this is entirely accurate, the deal can still be considered a particular coup for Sherwood ahead of a campaign in which he will be eager to improve on last season's 17th-place finish.