Arthur 'counting the days' to Barcelona switch

Arthur is counting down the days until his "dream" move to Barcelona.

Earlier this month, Barca agreed an option to buy the highly-rated Gremio midfielder for an initial €30million, with the deal due to go through in July and Arthur expected to arrive in January.

Arthur has already spoken of his excitement of playing with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and his "idol" Andres Iniesta.

And he says he cannot wait to travel to Camp Nou for the first time and get his Barcelona career underway.

"I am counting the days to play at Barca," he told Mundo Deportivo.

"Barca was the club in which I always dreamed of playing and making that dream come true was very rewarding.

"I celebrated with my family because it was a dream of everyone, not only mine."

There have been some suggestions that Arthur could arrive in LaLiga earlier than planned, but it is not an issue he will be pushing, the 21-year-old happy to let the clubs decide.

He added: "That is a question that not only depends on me, but also on Gremio. 

"So the two clubs should sit down to decide, but I am sure that what they decide will be good for me."