A Progress Report on the Form of Barcelona's Loanees

Barcelona have five players out on loan at the moment.

Each has seen a modicum of career success while away from Camp Nou, with one player in particular going all-out to show the club exactly what a big mistake they made.

Portugal, Greece, England and Spain are home to those players, who perhaps understand that their futures may lie away from Catalonia.

Yet while Barca retain their registrations, there is every chance a player will return if form is rediscovered.

Let's take a look at a progress report for each over these next few pages...

Alex Song

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Alex Song has been a revelation at West Ham.

Alex Song would appear to have made exactly the right decision when swapping Catalonia for east London.

The player everyone knew he could be has returned and with a new-found confidence, which was sorely lacking when Song was forced to be Sergio Busquets' understudy.

Handing him the captain's armband was a stroke of genius by Sam Allardyce, and he has responded in kind with some outstanding performances at the heart of the Hammers midfield.

West Ham United will surely be one of many possible suitors once his loan deal expires, but Allardyce will be hoping he is able to keep one step ahead of the rest.

Barcelona's official website details Song's two assists, while WhoScored notes he has the same amount of yellow cards.

A move that has worked out exceptionally well so far.

Cristian Tello

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Cristian Tello on the scoresheet for Porto.

When Cristian Tello was at Barca, he flattered to deceive on numerous occasions.

Lightning quick from a standing start, it was his end product that was often lacking.

Whether that took the form of a lack of experience and confidence leading to a wasteful pass when in a good position or gilt-edged chances going begging, Tello had the tools but seemingly not the nous to use them.

It would appear that his time at Porto has taken on a somewhat familiar theme.

In 15 appearances in the Primeira Liga, of which four were as sub, the youngster has only registered a solitary strike and no assists per WhoScored. He fares a little better in the Champions League, with a goal and two assists from five appearances, two as sub.

Clearly that isn't good enough at the highest level and you cannot envisage that Tello has a future at Barca once his loan period expires.

Denis Suarez

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The ex-Manchester City starlet has not looked overawed in any of the games for Sevilla so far.

Denis Suarez continues ripping it up down in Andalusia.

Sevilla have been the beneficiaries of an enviable skill set which is both easy on the eye and industrious.

Per WhoScored, the 21-year-old ex-Manchester City academy graduate has four goals and three assists so far this campaign.

Any Sevilla fans concerned that they had lost their best player in Ivan Rakitic needn't have worried. The guy going the other way is pretty tasty, too.

With Barca unable to recall any loanees, it will likely be January of next year before Suarez returns, if at all.

Why would he consider leaving a club where he is getting the regular football that he has surely craved for some while now?

Moreover, Suarez has been an integral part to Sevilla's best-ever return in the first half of a La Liga season.

Ibrahim Afellay

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Ibrahim Afellay has been trying his luck in Greece.

Like Tello, Ibrahim Afellay was going to be the winger Barcelona were missing, a speed merchant who would carve open defences for the likes of Messi and Co. to do damage.

Injuries have certainly played their part in the Dutchman's stop-start career since 2011, and you'd be foolish to think that anyone can come back the same player after such extensive injury concerns.

Only three full 90 minutes in Greece isn't perhaps what Afellay had in mind when signing, but he has played a part in most games and it's time he learned to love his profession again.

Two goals in both the Champions League and Greek Super League, per WhoScored, also needs to be improved upon.

If the Dutchman can ensure a run of full games, it's a reasonable bet that we'll see the Ibrahim Afellay that Barcelona were so keen to buy just a few short years ago.

Gerard Deulofeu

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Unai Emery has seen a maturity to Gerard Deulofeu's game.

Gerard Deulofeu must have had the shock of his life when Luis Enrique told him that he wouldn't be forming part of this season's first-team squad after all.

Just a few days earlier, he had been modelling the new strip alongside Rafinha and could have rightly expected that a first-team squad berth was a formality.

But never count your chickens.

An apparent lack of application in training led to Lucho's decision to give him a kick up the backside. And it's worked.

Six assists and one goal evidences, per WhoScored, a more mature outlook form the wide man and the ability to get bums off of seats has seen the youngster turn into a real crowd favourite.