Bengaluru, Feb 20: Barcelona are putting some last touches in their bid to complete the signing of promising 19-year-old Brazilian centre-half Vitao from Palmeiras, according to reports.

The player and his representatives are in Barcelona to put the finishing touches to the deal and it is expected to be announced shortly. Vitao is expected to command a fee in the region of €20 million.

The main man behind the completion of the deal is said to be Barcelona's chief scouts in Brazil Andre Cury who has a strong working relationship with Palmeiras’ sporting director Alexandre Mattos.

In recent times, Barcelona have often looked into Latin American prospects with an eye for the future. They recently signed 20-year-old right-back Emerson from Atletico Mineiro in January for €12m who is currently seeing out the 2018-19 campaign on loan at Real Betis and expected to join the first team next season, while their last year's January signing midfielder Arthur has well been integrated to the first-team squad.

Earlier they also signed players like Yerri Mina, Douglas from Brazilian clubs however both the deals did not fare well.

But after recent success with Arthur, the Spanish side looks to follow the same path and eager to poach talents like Vitao from Latin America to regenerate next line of players from the foundation.

Vitao is the captain of the Brazil Under-20 team and previously played 24 times for the nation's under-17 side. He can either play centre-half or defensive midfield.

He also has captained the Brazil side that lost to eventual winners England in the semi-finals of the Under-17 World Cup in 2017. They ultimately took third place in the tournament in India.

Should the deal go through, Vitao will be the second centre-back to be signed by Barcelona lately. They also signed 19-year-old French talent Jean-Clair Todibo in January who is currently on loan in his native club Toulouse.

Both the players are expected to join the squad in Summer. However, Vitao at the moment may not be included directly in the Senior squad. At present, he is expected to move into the squad Barça B, or be loaned out to a La Liga club to gain valuable first-team experience before blending in the senior side.