Sergi Samper, Barcelona Agree New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

Midfielder Sergi Samper has agreed to a contract extension with Barcelona that will keep him at the club until 2019. 

The Camp Nou giants confirmed the news via their official website on Tuesday and reported that Samper's release clause has been set at €50 million (£42 million).

The 21-year-old has been on the fringes of the Barca first team for the last few seasons, with the presence of Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta and particularly Sergio Busquets forcing him to play a limited back-up role—he played just 29 minutes of La Liga football last term, per WhoScored.com.

Samper's new deal will reportedly see him presented officially as a first-team player with manager Luis Enrique having played a key part in Barca's decision to extend his deal, per Sport's Javier Miguel.

He is now likely to deputise for Busquets as the Blaugrana compete across a number of fronts domestically and in Europe next season, and he should be presented with more opportunities.

Per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe, he is the obvious replacement for the 28-year-old in Barcelona's alternative starting XI, but he must prove that he is making progress in the upcoming season:

Barcelona-born Samper joined the Camp Nou outfit at the age of six and has represented the club at every youth level, captaining the Barca B side last season.

The Catalan club are famous for producing world-class players from their La Masia academy, and the Barcelona hierarchy clearly see Samper as the next star to emerge.

He will not immediately be put under pressure to perform week in week out for the first team but now has the opportunity to prove that he can be a genuine successor to the brilliant Busquets.