Barcelona's first January signing imminent, medical scheduled

Barcelona finally got their man after agreeing an initial €55 million (£46.7m) fee with Manchester City for the transfer of Ferran Torres. Barcelona will pay an additional €10 million in add-ons which will take the overall fee to €65 million.

Xavi had made signing a forward a priority going into the January transfer window, and Torres was at the top of the Barcelona manager's wanted list. The Catalan club's CEO Ferran Reverter had travelled to Manchester to meet City officials last month to negotiate a move for the Spain international.

The two clubs were unable to agree on a fee initially, but the inclination of Torres to secure a move to the Camp Nou saw the two parties remain at the negotiating table in order to find a compromise. The reigning Premier League champions were initially demanding €60 million up front with Barcelona only offering €50 million.

According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the two have now reached a compromise and a deal has been agreed for the transfer of Torres. The Spaniard is expected to travel to the Catalan capital this week to complete a medical and be officially unveiled as a Barcelona player in the New Year.

"Barcelona are preparing paperworks and contracts to announce the signing of Ferrán Torres. Official statement in place, now working on protocols for Ferrán to travel," Romano wrote on Twitter.

Torres is expected to have agreed a lucrative five-year deal with Barcelona, despite the club's ongoing financial issues. The La Liga club's spending cap has been slashed to just €97 million for this season, and they will have to aggressively slash their wage bill during the January transfer window, with a number of first-team players expected to be available for transfer.

The likes of Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Neto, Martin Braithwaite and Luuk de Jong have all been deemed surplus to requirements by Xavi, but Barcelona have struggled to generate interest in the high earning first-team stars.