Tottenham have signed former Barcelona forward Cristian Ceballos, who will go into the club’s development squad after impressing on trial at the end of last season.

The diminutive 18-year-old, who can play as an attacking midfielder or forward, spent almost seven years at the Nou Camp after joining the Catalans at the age of 11.

He was released by the La Liga giants last season and trained with Chelsea in March, but the Blues declined to take him on.

Ceballos subsequently had a trial with Spurs at their Chigwell training ground, and the Lilywhites have seen enough potential to hand him a contract.

Technical co-ordinator Tim Sherwood, who is heavily involved in the development of Tottenham’s young players, said: “Cristian trained hard and showed some real quality when he originally spent time here towards the end of last season and was even involved in some of the first-team training.

“There was other interest in him too. He needs to be patient and if he can fulfill his potential we believe he can play at the top level.”

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