Barcelona have announced they have triggered the buy-back option in Gerard Deulofeu’s contract for €12m (£10.6m).
Deulofeu was deemed surplus to requirements by Everton manager Ronald Koeman at the start of last season before flourishing on loan at AC Milan in the second half of the campaign.
The 23-year-old is currently preparing to lead Spain’s U21 side out in the European Championship final against Germany on Friday night and will return to Spain afterwards to discuss personal terms with his boyhood club.
“FC Barcelona have activated the buy-back clause for Gerard Deulofeu,” a statement read on the club’s official website. “In the following days, the terms will be agreed with both Everton and the player. Deulofeu’s contract will run until June 30 2019.”
It remains to be seen what Barcelona intend to do with Deulofeu, who will need regular first-team football to have any chance of making the senior Spain squad for the 2018 World Cup.
In Serie A last season no player created more chances per game than Deulofeu (2.5), who scored four goals and provided three assists in 17 matches. Not only that, but only Felipe Anderson (3.3) and Giacomo Bonaventura (3.2) completed more dribbles per game than the Spaniard (2.9).
For more stats on Gerard Deulofeu, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
Ha! Now he's in a tough position. They'll probably keep him to provide cover, so he'll just rot on the bench. He should have demanded a loan before signing anything, if that was an option.