Alen Halilovic to Real Sporting: Latest Loan Details, Comments, Reaction

Barcelona’s prodigious midfielder Alen Halilovic has agreed to join Sporting Gijon on a season-long loan.  

News of the temporary switch came on Friday, per the club’s official website. Halilovic will be hoping a move to El Molinon will see him accrue vital first-team football and some critical experience of operating in Spain’s top flight.

Here’s a look at why Sporting fans should be excited about the loan deal for the young Croatian:

With so many superstars in the Barca squad, competitive minutes in the first team have yet to materialise for the ex-Dynamo Zagreb man since signing last summer. As reported by the aforementioned piece, Halilovic plied his trade in the club’s B team in 2014-15, featuring in 30 matches and netting four times.

As noted here by Sport Witness earlier in the window, according to Mundo Deportivo, Halilovic was set to join Hamburg, but the German club couldn’t adhere to certain clauses in the deal:

Sporting are a team who will be able to afford the youngster the game time he needs. Granted, they might struggle to stay out of relegation trouble in their first season back in La Liga, but their manager Abelardo Fernandez will be looking to Halilovic for a spark that’ll help them get over the line in tight matches.

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The Croatia man certainly possesses a mercurial streak, and although he played a key role in Barcelona’s pre-season preparations, it’s clear there are still some raw edges in his skill set. But this season is one in which he should learn plenty from, allowing Blaugrana fans around the globe to sit back and watch this major talent expedite his development.