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BARCELONA

Official: Barça confirm Deulofeu signing

Gerard Deulofeu returns to Camp Nou after a spell in the Premier League with Everton, signing a contract until 2019 with his boyhood club.

Official: Barça confirm Deulofeu signing
FERNANDO ZUERASDIARIO AS

Barcelona have on Friday re-signed Gerard Deulofeu from Everton. The winger will become Barça’s first signing of the summer transfer window for a fee of €12m, as stipulated the buy-back clause in his Everton contract. Deulofeu signed a three-year contract at Goodison Park in 2015.

Barcelona were at a crossroads with Deulofeu

Barça released a club statement to announce the news:

“FC Barcelona have activated the buy-back clause for Gerard Deulofeu. In the following days, the terms will be agreed with both Everton and the player. Deulofeu’s contract will run until 30 June 2019.”

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The Camp Nou club were at a crossroads. Club directors knew that Deulofeu could have left on a free transfer next season, while the signing brings another La Masia product in to the first-team squad. This is symbolically valuable at a time when Barcelona’s previously-fruitful academy is under scrutiny.

Deulofeu to rest after Spain U21 duty

Deulofeu will not join up with the Barça squad until they have returned from a pre-season tour to the United States. He is still with the Spain Under 21 squad ahead of their European Championship final against Germany, and will need a break before joining up with his team-mates. The rest of Ernesto Valverde’s squad will reconvene for pre-season on July 12.

For the transfer to be a success, Valverde and Barça should show faith in the Deulofeu’s talent, while Deulofeu should show faith in the project at the club. The radio-silence from both parties until June 30 does not fill one with too much hope, but things change quickly in football.