A look at the Barça players out on loan

At the moment there are five FC Barcelona players who are out on loan and are using that experience with other Spanish clubs and clubs across Europe to continue to develop as footballers. Denis Suárez and Gerard Deulofeu are both at Sevilla, Cristian Tello is at Portuguese club Porto, Ibrahim Afellay is at Greek side Olympiakos and finally Alex Song is with Premier League outfit West Ham. Here we have a look at how they have been getting on in their respective teams since the last break for international matches.

Denis Suárez and Gerard Deulofeu

The Galician midfielder Suárez is a fixture in Unai Emery’s starting 11 at Sevilla. Since the last break he has started every game and of all the players at Barça out on loan, he is the one who has played the most. The former Celta and Manchester City man has also scored his first goal for the Andalusians, finding the net against Villarreal at home in the Sánchez Pizjuán to clinch a comeback win for Sevilla. In Europe Suárez has played 120 minutes in both games against Belgian side Standard Liege.

Gerard Deulofeu for his part is gradually becoming more and more important for coach Emery as he has started three of their last four matches. The current UEFA Europa League champions are having an excellent start to the season and currently sit in fifth place in the league, four points behind leaders Real Madrid and two behind Barça.

Deulofeu has played in both Europa League games against Standard in competition in which last season’s winners are already through the next stage. Suárez and Deulofeu both started in the recent Spanish Cup win over Sabadell, Sevilla claiming a 6-1 away victory over the Catalans in the first leg of their last 32 clash.

Cristian Tello

The winger at Porto has been in the starting 11 in the last two league matches for Julen Lopetegui’s side. In total he has played in 8 of their 10 league fixtures so far this season. In his last match in the team they dispatched Arouca away from home with a comfortable 5-0 win. Porto are currently in third place in the league, three points behind leaders Benfica.

In Europe the Sabadell born forward played in both his team’s Champions League clashes with Athletic Bilbao, adding some 142 minutes to his total playing time. The Portuguese club lead Group H with 10 points.

Ibrahim Afellay

The Dutchman has featured prominently for Olympiakos in recent weeks. He started in both important league victories over big rivals Panathinaikos at home and away at Panthrakikos. The Greek side are going well domestically where they are just two points behind leaders PAOK. Afellay started both recent Champions League encounters with Juventus. The team coached by former Real Madrid player Michel are still in with a chance of claiming second place in their group with two games still to play.

Alex Song

Finally Alex Song is making the most of his time at West Ham. He has been in the starting 11 in every match for the London club since the beginning of October and has played all but 20 minutes of those games. Recent highlights include a 2-1 win over Premier League champions Manchester City which has helped them fight their way up to the table to a Champions League position.