Talks have been building since the turn of the year, when sporting director Deco made the trip to Belgium himself to gauge whether a deal was feasible. Barcelona's opening bid of roughly €10m fell well short of Brugge's own €15m valuation and was turned down, leaving the two clubs at an impasse for several weeks.
That gap has since narrowed, with Het Nieuwsblad reporting Brugge have secured a sell-on clause of more than 30 percent as the price of finally coming to terms — a clause that speaks to how highly the Belgian side still rate him even as they let him go.
A first-team place is not part of the plan for now. Bisiwu would instead be registered with Barça Atletic to get regular minutes, though he is expected to train alongside Hansi Flick's senior squad in pre-season and join the group for their training camp in England, at which point the head coach would weigh up whether to fast-track him any further.
Barcelona see real long-term upside in the 18-year-old, drawing comparisons internally to how they developed Roony Bardghji through a similar route into the first-team picture. The fact that Brugge's contract with him runs only until 2027 has worked in Barcelona's favour throughout the talks, since the Belgian club faced the prospect of losing him for a smaller fee — or nothing at all — the longer they held out.
Barcelona have not confirmed anything officially, but several outlets in both countries have gone further in the past day, reporting that the framework of a deal is effectively settled and that medical checks could follow shortly.
It would mark the latest step in a summer in which Flick and Deco have prioritised pace and youth out wide, running alongside their pursuit of Karim Adeyemi as the club looks to add depth to its attacking options heading into the new campaign.