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Liverpool and Tottenham target Cristian Tello signs new deal at Barcelona
CRISTIAN TELLO has signed a new four-year contract at Barcelona.
Tello had been linked with a summer move to Liverpool or Tottenham but the youngster has now committed his future to Barca.
Liverpool and Spurs were thought to be tempted by the player's talent, tactical education and £8.7m release clause.
But Barcelona have responded to the rumours by tying Tello to the Camp Nou until the summer of 2018 and bumping up the winger's release clause to £22m.
Barcelona were thought to be reticent to lose another promising youth product this summer, having already seen Thiago Alcantara depart for Bayern Munich.
The 21-year-old has struggled to break into the star-studded Barcelona first team, and was thought to be contemplating a move away to guarantee greater opportunities to develop.
And although Tito Vilanova's departure temporarily put the new deal on hold, Gerardo Martino's assertion that he wants a large squad to be able to call upon, including emerging talent like Tello and Jonathan Dos Santos, saw Barca move swiftly to get Tello to agree to terms.
Barcelona have previously been highly critical of attempts to lure Tello away from Catalonia, with Manchester City on the receiving end late last year, after rumours that Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain hoped to bring Tello with them after leaving their posts at the Blaugrana.