The transfer market is not only used by the big teams in Europe to strengthen their first teams, but also to scout promising young players who show potential. At Barcelona, they are no strangers to this situation, and the sporting director is looking for good opportunities in the form of bargains to strengthen the second team, but with a view to the player in question making the leap to the first team in a few years’ time. That is why various reports suggest that the Catalans have found a new diamond in the rough: Lovro Chelfi.
Barcelona Atlètic will play this season in Group 3 of the Segunda RFEF. The Catalan side will be looking for that long-awaited promotion to the former Segunda B, but the ultimate goal is to return to the silver division of Spanish football, where virtually no reserve team manages to establish itself, but it is a fairly tough division that can help all those kids who dream of following in the footsteps of Lamine Yamal and making the leap to the first team to share a dressing room with Raphinha, Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, and the rest of the Blaugrana stars.
🇪🇸 El @FCBarcelona contrata a Juliano Belletti como nuevo entrenador del filial. Hasta la fecha dirigía al equipo juvenil, con el que se ha proclamado campeón de la UEFA Youth League, Copa y Liga esta temporada. pic.twitter.com/N9xJhd0lUc
— Mercatosphera (@mercatosphera) May 30, 2025
Barcelona’s reserve team will be coached by Juliano Belletti, the legendary former footballer who scored one of the goals that allowed the Azulgranas to lift the Champions League trophy in 2006 against Arsenal. The Brazilian was coaching the Juvenil A team, and the club, chaired by Joan Laporta, decided that he should take charge of Barça Atlètic instead of Sergi Milá, who managed to keep the team up after a rather inconsistent season.
Now it is Juliano Belletti’s turn to bring out the best in the Blaugrana’s reserve team after winning a historic treble with the Juvenil A team, with whom he won the Youth League, the League and the Cup. He will now have to promote several players from his previous team, as there have been several departures from his new team. Among the most notable are the sale of Noah Darvich to Stuttgart and Sergi Domínguez to Dinamo Zagreb.
Lovro Chelfi, a new signing for Barça
That is why, between the need to bring new faces to Barcelona Atlètic and the club’s philosophy of looking for young gems with potential at a low cost, the Barça sports management has reached an agreement for the transfer of Croatian Lovro Chelfi. The 18-year-old midfielder plays for NK Kustosija in Zagreb and, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the deal is done.
🚨🔵🔴 Barcelona have agreed deal to sign 18 year old Croatian midfielder Lovro Chelfi.
Chelfi was linked with Premier League move but he will join Barça U21 squad with agreement in place with NK Kustosija. pic.twitter.com/kOynoRZDbm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 8, 2025
The sporting director of Barcelona has been following Lovro Chelfi for several months, but there were also other European giants who had the midfielder’s name on their agenda. He has been linked with clubs such as Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, and Valencia, but at Camp Nou it seems that they are already celebrating having come out on top with the signing of this Croatian gem, who will arrive in Barcelona to play under Juliano Belletti.
The deal does not appear to be particularly expensive at first glance, as around two million will be paid for Lovro Chelfi‘s transfer, although bonuses could be added depending on objectives, as was the case with Pedri, a signing that was cheap but ended up reaching 30 million. The Croatian plays in midfield, more specifically in the attacking midfield position, but he can also adapt to playing on the wings if necessary. Now that Ivan Rakitic has retired, many hope that the player will follow in his footsteps, although many still remember the fiasco that was the signing of Alen Halilovic.