Progress report on five on loan players

FC Barcelona have five first team players out on loan this season and we take a look below at how Alex Song, Cristian Tello, Ibrahim Afellay, Denis Suárez and Gerard Deulofeu, are getting on.

• ALEX SONG

          Cameroon midfielder Alex Song went to West Ham United on loan at the start of this season and has so far played 277 minutes for The Hammers in four games, captaining the side against QPR. In all, Song has made two assists, but is yet to score.

• IBRAHIM AFELLAY

          Since he moved to Olympiacos, Affelay has scored twice for his new side, once in the league and once in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid. The Dutch winger has featured in five of the team’s seven games this season, putting in 216 minutes n the league and 146 in Europe.

• CRISTIAN TELLO

          Cristian Tello is playing under Julen Lopetegui at Porto and has played in all but one of the team’s games so far this season, scoring once and impressing in the derby game against Sporting. He provided an assist for Jackson Martínez.in the Champions League game against Shaktar Donetsk and was voted Man of the Match in the league game against Braga.

• SUÁREZ and DEULOFEU

         The two youngsters are both at Seville and have both made impressive starts to their loan periods. Denis Suárez has played in all seven league games, the Europa Cup match against Feyenoord and the European Super Cup final against Real Madrid. Although he has yet to score, he’s provided two assists and already  looks very much at home in the top flight.

According to Gerard Deulofeu: “I’m improving. I wanted more game time and I am being patient and trying to make sure I always contribute when I play”. The young Catalan has featured in four league games and scored against Real Sociedad. He has provided three league assists and two in the Europa League game against Feyenoord, when he played the full 90 minutes.