Inter and Napoli have both been linked with Gerard Deulofeu, but it’s not clear if he can actually leave Barcelona in January.
The winger rejoined the Catalan club this summer, after they activated a buyback clause in his deal with Everton.
Deulofeu had spent the second half of last season on loan at Milan, and his form convinced the Blaugrana to buy him back.
Now though he’s being linked with a return to Italy, with Inter and Napoli both said to be interested.
Inter and Napoli have both been linked with Gerard Deulofeu, but it’s not clear if he can actually leave Barcelona in January.
The winger rejoined the Catalan club this summer, after they activated a buyback clause in his deal with Everton.
Deulofeu had spent the second half of last season on loan at Milan, and his form convinced the Blaugrana to buy him back.
Now though he’s being linked with a return to Italy, with Inter and Napoli both said to be interested.
Adding fuel to the fire, Deulofeu has been left out of the Barça squad for the Copa Del Rey match with Celta Vigo tonight, though Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have also been left at home.
However, there is also a question over whether Los Cules can actually allow their youth product to leave again in January.
When Everton signed Deulofeu there was a buyback clause, but there were a number of conditions attached.
“They can't take him back in the winter so they can't take him back in January,” explained then-manager Roberto Martinez in 2015.
“It can only be at the end of the season. It is €9m for the first year and €12m in the second year.
“If they take him back they can't sell him for a season, so he has to stay in the first-team squad for a season.
“At the end of that, if they decide to sell him, we have got first rights of getting him back or we have got a big percentage of that deal.”
If Martinez’s description of the deal is accurate, it means Barça couldn’t sell Deulofeu to Inter or Napoli this month, even if they wanted to.
In addition, Everton would have the option of taking him back to England if they wanted to.