Gerard Deulofeu has been an enigmatic talent for much of his career. Now, aged 28, he should be entering his prime and it appears several teams are willing to bet that he can now find the consistency that has so far impeded him from making an impact in European competitions.
Once the star of La Masia, Deulofeu struggled to break into the first team initially and tried his luck instead at Everton, Sevilla, Milan, Watford and Barcelona again before eventually settling at Udinese. Amongst those many loans and moves there were excellent seasons but often followed by more meek showings. Las season he recorded 13 goals and 5 assists in Serie A across 34 games, leading the way for Udinese.
After the departure of Adnan Januzaj, Real Sociedad are reportedly interested in taking him to Guipuzkoa, as per Mundo Deportivo. Udinese are asking for €15m for permission to negotiate with him.
However, La Real face stiff competition. According to Diario AS, Napoli are also keen on the Catalan winger, which will represent a tricky offer to beat out. Napoli will be playing Champions League football next season too.
With Deulofeu, it seems he often performs best when managers cater to his skillset. Whether Imanol Alguacil or Luciano Spalletti are able to do so may well weigh heavily on his success.
