The Catalans inserted a clause in his loan deal to Eibar to ensure they had final say over his future.
Barcelona’s pre-season tour of the United States was used by Ernesto Valverde as a way for the La Masia youngsters to show their talent due to most of the key players still recovering from their World Cup exploits as well as the lack of competitive edge for the matches.
Marc Cucurella was in direct competition with Juan Miranda for the backup left-back spot behind Jordi Alba after the departure of Lucas Digne. He ultimately lost out to the player two years his junior and ended up going out on loan to Eibar in order to continue his development. This was the right move for his career because staying any longer in the B team was only going to stifle him due to them being up against third division opposition after last season’s relegation.
It was widely reported that Eibar has the option to make the move permanent in the summer if he impresses sufficiently over the season. However, according to Marca, Barcelona has a repurchase option if they pay double the amount of Eibar’s permanent option, which makes sense considering his potential.
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The 20-year-old starred in Eibar’s recent 3-0 win over Real Madrid as he had a hand in each of the goals. His cross led to the first goal as Gonzalo Escalante bundled the ball over the line after Thibaut Courtois had saved from Kike. For the second, he dispossessed Alvaro Odriozola while he was attempting to control a switch of play from Toni Kroos and then passed across to Sergi Enrich who calmly finished. The third came from another of his crosses as Enrich ended up diverting it into the path of Kike for an easy finish.
Jose Mendilibar has used him in a variety of positions but he seems to suit playing further forwards as a wide midfielder in a 4-4-2 shape due to the reduction in defensive responsibilities. He has two assists in 332 league minutes and they have come against Alaves and Real, which were arguably the hardest games he has been involved in so far.
The playing time he is receiving at Eibar might convince him that his future lies elsewhere from Barcelona, but the repurchase option at least provides the club with the option to bring him back if he continues to star for Eibar because the Basque side are likely to sign him permanently if he continues putting in performances like he did against Real.