Gerard Deulofeu to Barcelona: the pros and cons of triggering his £10.5m Everton buy-back clause
Amongst all the mammoth fees they’re rumoured to be paying, Barcelona have been linked with a much smaller purchase: that of Gerard Deulofeu.
The Catalan winger is currently an Everton player, having been sold to the Merseysiders from Barcelona following a successful loan spell. After some initial success with the Toffees he was loaned out to AC Milan for the second half of the 2016/17 season.
He excelled there, scoring 4 goals and assisting a further 3 in 17 games for the Rossoneri. For the first time in three years he looked like the devastating winger that La Masia and Barcelona B fans had become accustomed to seeing over the years.
That form has played a part in the idea that Barça will activate the buy-back clause of £10.5m that was put into place when they originally sold him to Everton. But what are the pros and cons of such a deal?
Pro: Barça need a right-winger, he is a right-winger
There can be no doubt that Barcelona need a right-winger this summer. M-S-N’s time as a forward trio has come to an end with Leo Messi drifting more centrally with each passing season. He’s returning to the playmaker he always was, this has opened up a hole on the right.
Barça tried to fill this hole, at first with Ivan Rakitic (playing a hybrid role) and Dani Alves attacking. And that worked. But without Alves and with Rakitic struggling, that fell by the wayside. 3-3-1-3 provided a respite but even there, it was obvious that Rafinha was just a hard-worker filling in where an actual specialist should be.
Deulofeu would be that specialist. The Catalan is a pacy winger with good dribbling skills and would be at the very least a natural in a position where Barcelona have no naturals.
Con: He hasn’t developed since they sold him
While Deulofeu is a pacy winger with good dribbling skills, that’s exactly what he was when he debuted as 17 year-old during 11/12. And again as an 18 year-old. Then a 19 year-old. You get the picture, right?
Deulofeu’s dribbling is brilliant. His ability to time just when to blow by his man with a shift of his weight is superb. Unfortunately he enjoys doing it so much he overdoes it, sometimes holding on to the ball for way too long in an effort to blow by more opponents.
His mentality is the same as it’s always been. He’s not grown or changed despite all the years of experiences he’s had. And that’s just obscene when you think about it. He’s 23 but he still plays like a teenager. The Phil Jones of wingers.
Pro: He would be cheap
Barcelona have a lot of transfer business to do this summer. They need to sign a right-back as a matter of urgency and their two main options, Héctor Bellerin and Nelson Semedo, will not be cheap. The Blaugrana desperately need to replace Dani Alves and will have to spend.
Similarly in the middle of the park, where Andrés Iniesta (and the spectre of Xavi) will finally need to find their heir. Marco Verratti is the ideal target and will most likely cost north of €70m. His would be an essential signing as Barça want to return to, you know, having a good midfield.
This may leave funds short for the right-winger that Barcelona also need. The Blaugrana want Ousmane Dembélé but he’ll cost anything up to and even surpassing the €70m they’d have to pay for Verratti. Handily, Deulofeu is both a right-winger (as established earlier) and cheap at £10.5m.
Con: His decision-making is suspect
Like, really suspect. As mentioned above he’s a talented dribbler but so often rides that talent way too far and into the legs of a waiting defender. Sure he’ll have skipped by two opponents previous, but driving into a third instead of crossing is just bad decision-making.
Moreover he picks the wrong pass so often. Or chooses to shoot when he should pass. Or pass when he should shoot (actually no he never does that, he’s an incredibly selfish player). It’s hard for Barcelona to justify having a starting player who can’t be trusted to make the right decision, because that’s half of what they do at the Camp Nou. Play simple football and make the right decisions under pressure.
Pro: They could sell him on to help fund other, better transfers
An underrated aspect of re-signing Deulofeu is that Barcelona would then be able to sell him on. This sounds baffling, why bring him back just to get rid of him again, but it makes a lot of sense if Barcelona can find someone who will pay them more than £10.5m.
Who would pay that? Plenty of teams, really. As his brief spell at Milan (or his early days on loan with Everton) showed, Deulofeu is an incredibly talented player who can thrive if placed for an upper-mid-table club that is pushing for greater things but without the expectation they will achieve them.
There are lots of clubs like that around the world, and Deulofeu would be a good fit at a great many of them. If Barcelona can find one with enough cash to spare, they could even turn a profit on this kid.
Con: He’s a problem child who’s fallen out with or frustrated every manager he’s had
But ultimately, what Barcelona have to consider is this: however talented Gerard Deulofeu is (and he’s plenty talented) he’s not a player who you can trust over the long haul of a season. Hell, you can barely trust him over the short haul of one game.
And that’s the worst thing. Pep Guardiola gave him two games but nothing more. Tito Vilanova gave him four. These are managers who trust young talent to the hilt but neither was willing to truly gamble on bringing Deulofeu through. They knew the issues the boy had.
Roberto Martinez trusted him, probably the only coach that did, but in the end even he fell out with the youngster. Unai Emery repeatedly criticised Deulofeu during a loan spell at Sevilla. When Luis Enrique, Deulofeu’s coach during his first year with Barcelona B, got the senior job at the Camp Nou, there was no talk of bringing the Catalan into the fold. He was sold on July 1st and Barça never looked back.
Okay, Vincenzo Montella at Milan seemed to get on with him. But even that would have ended in tears if it went on, much like things went sour with Martinez too. He just falls foul of every coach he plays for, and he’s played for some great coaches. Ernesto Valverde doesn’t need that headache.
Verdict:
Gerard Deulofeu looks every inch a busted flush. A classic (but tragic) case of unfulfilled genius. Barcelona shouldn’t re-sign him unless there is a buyer in place who will spend more than the £10.5m to take him off their hands. They could more than likely find a better winger in the lower half of La Liga (Deportivo’s Juanfran, for one) who would probably be cheaper too.
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