Yerry Mina's uncle urges Barcelona to make January transfer decision as Borussia Dortmund circle

Yerry Mina's uncle and agent has urged Barcelona to make a swift decision on whether they want to sign the his nephew in January after warning that Borussia Dortmund are also interested in the Palmeiras centre-back.

AS and Mundo Deportivo reported earlier this week that Mina has been identified as the main candidate to replace Javier Mascherano if the Argentina international leaves the club during the upcoming January transfer window.

Barcelona have a first option to sign the Colombia international which could be activated either in January or at the end of the current campaign.

Ernesto Valverde's original plan was to delay his arrival until the summer but those reports claimed that Barcelona were now expected to bring the deal forward to January to fill the gap to be left by the expected departure of Mascherano - who has offers from the Chinese Super League.

Mina's uncle spoke with Barcelona technical secretary Robert Fernandez on Tuesday (12 December) to discuss the move but he says that the club are yet to make a final decision.

"I talked to Robert this morning [on Tuesday] and he tells me they are yet to make a decision. There is a pre-contract with Barça [and all the conditions] were agreed in May 2016," Jair Mina told AS.

Mundo Deportivo had suggested that Barcelona would need to negotiate the transfer with Palmeiras to complete the move in January as the option to lure him away from the Brazilian outfit for a fee set at €9m (£7.9m, $10.6m) cannot be activated until the summer.

However, Mina's uncle assures that the Catalans could sign Mina now for €9m while they will need to pay an extra €1m if the delay his arrival until the summer.

"I know that the price is a bargain and they are going to kill me in Colombia but it was agreed two years ago," Mina's uncle replied when asked whether Barcelona could complete his signing for only €9m.

Mina's future is therefore Barcelona's hands but his uncle issued a warning to the La Liga giants after revealing that Dortmund are also closely monitoring the situation.

"Borussia have called us to make him play. They [Barcelona] have to say clearly if they want him or not because there are clubs that want him now like Borussia and they want him to make him play. They keep telling me that Barça has not made a decision and what we hope is that this will be sort it out as soon as possible," Mina's uncle added.

It has been said that Barcelona have delayed the decision amid doubts over whether the 23-year-old will adapt to European football but Jair Mina added: "He joined Palmeiras [from Santa Fe] and after four days he was playing. I do not say that he is going to play [as a starter] at Barça but he is going to go there to work and to have his options. But they should make a decision now."