RB Leipzig complete permanent signing of Barcelona's Ilaix Moriba

RB Leipzig have completed the signing of Barcelona prospect Ilaix Moriba on a permanent transfer.

The midfielder joins the Bundesliga side after refusing to pen fresh terms at Camp Nou having entered the final year of his contract, with the deal worth £14m plus £5m in add-ons.

Ilaix has signed a five-year contract with Leipzig, keeping him in east Germany until 2026.

The 18-year-old was linked with a cut-price move to a whole host of top European clubs having declined to extend his stay in Barcelona. Tottenham were among those interested in the Guinean, but he preferred a switch to the German top flight.

Die Roten Bullen stole a march on their rivals and met Barcelona's €20m (£17m) asking price with the transfer worth £19m overall, while the Blaugrana have inserted a 10% sell-on clause.

The Germans already had an agreement with the teenager over personal terms and a five-year contract ready to kick in in the summer of 2022 had they failed to force a transfer this summer, but they have got their man 12 months earlier.

Ilaix arrives as a direct replacement for Marcel Sabitzer, after the Austrian midfielder signed for Leipzig's Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich on Monday.

The teenager had been facing a season banished in Barça's reserves if he did not leave the club this summer, with the Catalan giants prepared to use him as an example of what they will do to players who do not want to be at the club anymore.