4 Barcelona rejects who are starring in Europe this season

Deulofeu has fired Watford to the FA Cup final
Deulofeu has fired Watford to the FA Cup final

#2 Gerard Deulofeu (Watford)

Barcelona v Espanyol - La Liga
Barcelona v Espanyol - La Liga

Deulofeu joined the Barcelona youth ranks in 2003, aged just nine and progressed through the ranks until making his first team debut in 2012.

The sheer quality of players in Barcelona's attack during the club's Golden period meant that breaking into the first team was always going to be a herculean task, as the club had illustrious names like Lionel Messi, David Villa, Pedro Rodriguez at this time.

Deulofeu thus had to undertake a number of loan spells over the next few seasons, calling Everton, Sevilla and AC Milan home.

He finally returned to Barcelona in the summer of 2017 as the club had activated his buyback clause, but the same problems remained and the Spanish international could not convince the Barcelona hierarchy over his suitability to their plans.

Another loan transfer was announced to Watford in January 2018, with the transfer made permanent at the end of the season for a fee reportedly worth €13m.

This season, Deulofeu has been exquisite, scoring seven goals and assisting five from 25 Premier League matches to help Watford sit 10th on the standings while his best contribution undoubtedly came in the FA Cup semifinal against Wolves where he came off the bench to dramatically turn a 2-0 deficit around and send the Hornets through to the final.

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