Barcelona have signed French defender Jean-Clair Todibo from Toulouse to a four-and-a-half-year deal.
Todibo, 19, had agreed to join the La Liga leaders in the summer when his Toulouse contract expired, but the deal has now been brought forward.
Sources have told ESPN FC that Barca will pay Toulouse around €2 million for the centre-back -- significantly more than the amount the Ligue 1 club would have received in development rights at the end of the season.
Barca had feared that Todibo, who has been given the No. 6 at the Camp Nou, would be left in a non-competitive environment for six months after Toulouse decided to freeze him out of first-team activity when he refused to sign a new contract in November.
After making 10 league appearances at the start of the season, he had offers from clubs including Barca and Juventus as Toulouse tried to persuade him to sign his first professional contract with them.
Toulouse president Olivier Sadran accused Barcelona of being arrogant and claimed they had not acted like a big club. He initially refused to negotiate Todibo's early release, but his stance softened as the window moved into its final days.
Barca's original plan had been to sign Todibo and send him on loan to another La Liga side, but the delay in agreeing a deal appears to have ended that idea. He could, however, be registered to play games for the Barca B team.
