Barcelona are having one of their worst seasons in La Liga this campaign. The team is nowhere near arch rivals Real Madrid in their level of performance and have pretty much handed them the league title after disappointing defeats and draws. On the European front, it could safely be said that the Catalans are almost out as they are left with the humungous task of overturning a four-goal deficit, which has never been done in Champions League before.
The on-field antics have affected off-field too, with fans being vocal about their unhappiness concerning boss Luis Enrique, whose transfer philosophy hasn’t been a success. With the Barcelona board already looking at new options to replace Enrique, it seems they don’t want to waste time in mending the squad, waiting for a new arrival at the helm.
According to reports, Barcelona are plotting to activate their buy-back clause for Everton winger Gerard Deulofeu in the summer transfer window. The Spaniard, who left Barcelona for Everton in the summer of 2015 for a fee of just over £4million, hasn’t been very impressive. Consequently, he has now been sent to Milan on a loan for the rest of the season.
The right-winger has, however, started his Serie A career in quite a decent manner. He has already bagged a goal and an assist in 5 appearances. The 22-year-old struggled to find form under Koeman at Everton before falling down the pecking order to Enner Valencia and Aaron Lennon.
According to reports in Italy, his form has alerted the attention of Barcelona who are now considering bringing the player back to Nou Camp. However, as per the clause, Barcelona will only be able to bring the player back to Spain during any summer transfer window, if they fork over £6m and don’t sell him on for at least a season.
And his encouraging displays at Italy have forced the Spanish side to reconsider their decision. They could make a move for him as soon as the window opens. A product of Barcelona youth team, Deulofeu was prolific coming up the ranks. In his 68 La Liga 2 appearances, he had scored 27 times registering five assists.
Although his scoring significantly decreased in the Premier league, he got more assists at Goodison Park. In the 75 games, he played in the Premier League, he scored eight goals and assisted 19 times.
With Messi starting on the right wing for Barcelona, Deulofeu will definitely play the second fiddle, but it would allow Barcelona more quality options up front, something that they have hugely missed this season.
