Deulofeu & Ceballos: two summer bargains

Gerard Deulofeu has returned to Barcelona, their first signing of the summer. I think it's a sensible operation, full of common sense on a football and a financial level. At a time when 90 million euros is being asked for a fourth forward, as is the case with Ousmane Dembele, to pay 12 million for Deulofeu (which in reality is six given what Everton paid for him) seems like a great opportunity. And opportunities have to be taken advantage of, especially keeping in mind Barça haven't always done so (Thiago, Bartra, Sandro...). 

I celebrate this signing for the changes in attitude and politics it refers to and also because of the player's talent. Deulofeu brings qualities which are demanded of a player who may not start all the time: a spark, pace, the capacity to change a game that's blocked and the talent to unbalance defences as a starter. I think we have to show some faith in Gerard: he has the qualities to success and, if not, Barça can sell him next summer for more than they have paid. And, for now, the club have saved 70 million euros in respect to Dembele... 

Another opportunity for Dani Ceballos? The star of the U21 Euros has a 15 million euro release clause, a bargain which can be compared with Marco Asensio's move to Real Madrid. You can't have any doubts when these opportunities arise. If you do, others get ahead of you and leave you looking silly. It hapened with Asensio and now Barça have to return the favour to Madrid, who are also keen on Ceballos. In this case, I celebrate how quickly Barça (coaches and directors) have reacted... it seems they've learned from previous failures. It's the path to follow -- without excluding other signings, like Marco Verratti.