MANCHESTER CITY HAVE completed the signing of Hajduk Split midfielder Ante Palaversa.

The Croatian teenager has put pen to paper on a deal with the Premier League champions after completing a medical on Tuesday.

Palaversa, 18, will be sent back to Hadjuk on loan until 2020, but City have the option to recall him in January of the same year.

Palaversa has played 14 matches for Hadjuk this season and contributed two goals, developing quickly and enhancing his repuation as a talented future star with each passing game.

He has represented Croatia at every youth level between U14 and U19, with some suggestion that he could be called up to the senior squad for Euro 2020 if he continues on his current trajectory.

Manchester City will not be able to utlise his talents for a year or so yet, but regular football in his homeland should see him continue improve before he joins his new teammates at the Etihad Stadium.

Palaversa is the English giants’ first signing of the January window, despite the fact Pep Guardiola had been looking at signing a new defensive midfielder, to provide cover for Fernandinho.

City are currently in second in the Premier League, five points behind Liverpool with 14 matches left to play.

Guardiola’s men also have a Carabao Cup final against Chelsea to look forward to, while they also negotiate the latter rounds of both the FA Cup and Champions League, with an unprecedented quadruple still within their sights.

Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here: