Barcelona Transfer News: Gerard Deulofeu Says There's 'No Chance' of Return

Gerard Deulofeu has said there is "no chance" he will return to Barcelona once his loan spell with Watford finishes at the end of the season.

"There is absolutely no chance of me going back to Barcelona. They don’t want me to, and I don’t want to either. I have a year left on my contract, but this summer I want to be sold. There won’t be another loan deal—it has to be a sale," he told RAC1 (h/t Juan Jimenez at AS).

Deulofeu returned to Barcelona from Everton in summer 2017 but managed just five La Liga starts under manager Ernesto Valverde before being allowed to leave on loan. He explained why he decided to move on, per Indy Football:

The 24-year-old enjoyed a bright start with the Hornets, scoring in a 4-1 win over champions Chelsea in February. Adam Crafton at the Daily Mail is a big fan:

However, Deulofeu's time at Watford has been interrupted by a foot injury that forced him onto the sidelines for several weeks. He only returned as a substitute during Sunday's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Watford have just two games remaining before the end of the season, and Deulofeu will be hoping to play some part in a bid to impress potential admirers ahead of a summer move.

His comments suggest a return to Barcelona is highly unlikely, and he's also appeared to be annoyed at his parent club after players wore celebratory T-shirts to commemorate winning La Liga on Sunday.

The shirts had the players' names on the back, but Deulofeu's was absent, and he took to social media to point that out, as shown by AS English:

Deulofeu would find it difficult to force his way into the team at the Camp Nou if he were to return. Valverde has plenty of attacking options with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele all in the squad.

The club are also keen to bring in Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid as soon as possible, per Marca (h/t Naveen Ullal at Sport Witness).

Watford may want to keep Deulofeu but one problem may be the price. Barcelona brought him back after activating a buy-back clause of €12 million (£10.6 million), per BBC Sport. However, Barca will surely want to make a profit on the winger, which could put him out of Watford's reach.