Barcelona have a mountain to climb in the Champions League in a couple of days’ time but even if they reach the summit, their manager Luis Enrique will quit the club at the end of the season. This will push the Catalan giants into a busy transfer window, with the club having to search for a manager and also a few quality players to help them next season. They have been linked with some of the finest players in Europe but one name that is doing the rounds constantly is Gerard Deulofeu.
Born and brought up in Riudarenes, Spain, Deulofeu was a constant presence in the Barcelona B team in his three years at the club and made his senior side debut back in 2011, but just made two senior appearances before moving on to Everton and Sevilla on loan, before earning a permanent move to the Premier League side in 2015. He had a decent season last time around but was sent out on loan to AC Milan but current Everton manager Ronald Koeman. Deulofeu has been decent in his time in Italy picking up two goals and three assists in the domestic league in just 12 appearances and is wanted back at the Camp Nou.
Reports today suggest that want to use exercise their buy-back option at around £10m but is Deulofeu Barcelona material? One of the finest dribblers of the ball in Europe at the moment, Deulofeu is an exciting winger who can play on either wing.
He loves to take on his man in dangerous areas to put in pinpoint crosses but is also adept at playing short passes to break the defence lines in crunch games. He has an excellent passing range, which sees him rack up key passes constantly and is a player who can develop into one that will fit in at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr and Luis Suarez are not going anywhere anytime soon, so it is hard to see Deulofeu walk into the first team next season but he could be a superb option to replace the front three when needed. The likes of Paco Alcacer, Dennis Suarez, and Arda Turan have played in this role this season but it is clear that Barcelona needs some more quality from the bench and Deulofeu is not a bad option.
Having played in three different leagues already, the 23-year old has gathered loads of experience and though he is yet to realise his potential, Deulofeu will only get better playing alongside the best in the business. Barcelona might need more established stars to complement their squad but it is hard to see players of that calibre sit on the bench at the Camp Nou. So the former Barcelona man Deulofeu is looking more and more like the best option for Barcelona.
