Stoke Outcast on the Verge of La Liga Return as Alaves Line up Season-Long Loan Deal

Bojan Krkic is on the verge of completing a season-long loan move back to La Liga with Alaves, according to The Sun.

The Stoke City forward has fallen out of favour at the Bet365 Stadium and, after being told he is surplus to requirements, is ready to head back to his homeland in pursuit of first-team football.

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Bojan spent the second half of last season at Mainz as the Potters looked to rebuild his confidence and fitness after a lengthy spell out with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

The 27-year-old, though, was put up for transfer by manager Mark Hughes after he failed to convince the Welshman that he had a future in the Premier League.

Alaves were thought to be have competition from fellow Spanish top flight side Malaga in the race to sign Bojan, but the latter pulled out of making an official bid for his services to leave last season's Copa del Rey finalists as the only outfit in the running.

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Bojan still has three years left to run on the contract he penned with Stoke upon his arrival back in June 2014, but his time in Staffordshire appears to be up as Alaves edge closer to luring him away from England.

The ex-Barcelona starlet was tipped to become the next Lionel Messi after he starred for the Catalan giants' youth teams, but after spells out on loan with Roma, AC Milan and Ajax, did little to persuade La Blaugrana that he had what it took to play regularly for their senior squad.

That led to Bojan completing a £2m switch to Stoke three summers ago but, after just 20 games and five goals, he was cruelly struck down by a cruciate tear that ruled him out of action for six months.

Bojan returned for the start of the 2015/16 season and managed to net seven goals in 31 matches for Stoke, but the following campaign saw his form and confidence nosedive with just 11 appearances before his switch to Mainz.

If his Alaves loan proves to be successful, Bojan could complete a permanent move to the club next summer.