Gerard Deulofeu's Contract at Barcelona Set to Be Extended With New Release Clause Inserted

Barcelona are currently on a pre-season tour in the USA and have a number of issues to sort out once they return to Spain. Chief among them is the extension of Gerard Deulofeu's contract.

According to Sport English  the Catalonia side already want to extend the Spanish winger's contract even though he signed a deal earlier this summer. His current contract runs out in 2019 and there is a release clause set at €20m, a fee which Barcelona deem too low for a player of his talent.

Deulofeu did not travel with Barca to the States as he currently has a problem with his knee. The 23-year-old started in Barcelona's youth academy and was sold to Everton for a reported fee of £4.2m in 2015.

Deulofeu didn't fit into Ronald Koeman's plans and the Spaniard was loaned out last season to AC Milian. Barcelona then activated their right to buy him back for €12m in June.

New Barca coach Ernesto Valverde seems pretty keen on Deulofeu as he wants to give him a new deal ahead of what promises to be his first full season with the Barcelona first team. Deulofeu has played for his national side three times and scored his first goal for Spain this year in March in a friendly against France.

In 2012, he was included by Don Balón in their list of the 101 most exciting prospects born after 1991, while in January 2014, he was named by The Observer as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe.

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Valverde will be hoping Deulofeu comes good on that potential if Barcelona are going to recapture the La Liga title off Real Madrid.