Ryan McDonald

Gerard Deulofeu Lázaro (born 13 March 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for English club Everton. Mainly a right winger, he can also play as a forward.

He started his career with Barcelona, first appearing with the first team at the age of 17, and was loaned to Everton and Sevilla before joining the former on a permanent basis in summer 2015.

Deulofeu was also a Spanish youth international, having represented the country over 60 times at under-16, under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels, being named the UEFA Under-19 Championship Golden Player in 2012. In 2014, he made his debut for the Spain national football team.

Contents [hide] 1 Club career 1.1 Barcelona 1.1.1 Everton (loan) 1.1.2 Sevilla (loan) 1.2 Everton 2 Style of play 3 International career 4 Club statistics 5 Honours 5.1 Club 5.2 International 5.3 Individual 6 References 7 External links Club career[edit] Barcelona[edit] Born in Riudarenes, Girona, Catalonia, Deulofeu joined Barcelona's youth academy in 2003 at the age of nine. In 2005, he was promoted to the U-13 team.[2] On 2 March 2011, still registered with the junior team, he made his senior debut, appearing for the B-team in a 4–1 away win against Córdoba CF in Segunda División by coming on as a substitute for Eduard Oriol in the 75th minute.[3]

In late April 2011 Deulofeu was called up to the senior squad for the first time, for a La Liga match against Real Sociedad on the 29th,[4] but did not leave the bench in a 1–2 away loss. On 3 August he made his Barcelona first-team debut, in a 1–4 friendly loss against C.D. Guadalajara; three days later, against Club América, he assisted Seydou Keita in the 90th minute of a 2–0 win.

On 16 September 2012 Deulofeu scored his first goal as a senior, in a 1–2 loss at Hércules CF.[5] On 29 October he made his first official appearance with the main squad, replacing Cesc Fàbregas in the 63rd minute of a 5–0 league home success against RCD Mallorca.[6]

Deulofeu scored 18 goals for the B's in the 2012–13 season, joint-fourth in the second level competition. On 15 May 2013 he signed a professional contract with the Blaugrana first team, running until June 2017.[7]

Everton (loan)[edit] On 10 July 2013, Premier League side Everton signed Deulofeu on a season-long loan.[8][9] The Liverpool Echo also reported that any loan fee would be waived if he made appearances in more than 50% of his new club's games.[10] He scored on his debut for his new club, a 2–1 home win over Stevenage in the second round of the Football League Cup on 29 August.[11]

On 30 November, Deulofeu scored his first league goal for the Toffees, netting the opener in a 4–0 home success against Stoke City.[12] His second came eight days later, through an 85th-minute strike at Arsenal to earn a 1–1 draw.[13]

On 14 December 2013, Deulofeu suffered a hamstring injury during Everton's 4–1 victory over Fulham, which sidelined him for five weeks.[14] He scored his third and last goal on 15 March of the following year, netting the opener in a 2–1 home win over Cardiff City.[15] He helped his team to record its best ever Premier League points tally of 72 to finish fifth[16] and, at the end of the campaign, Barcelona confirmed that he would not be returning for a second loan spell as he had been promoted to their first-team squad;[17] he wrote an open letter thanking the staff, players and fans for their support during his stay.[18]

Sevilla (loan)[edit] In May 2014, Deulofeu was granted a first-team place by new Barcelona manager Luis Enrique.[19] However, on 14 August 2014, Sevilla reached an agreement with Barcelona for the loan of Deulofeu for the coming season,[20] with the player admitting "surprise" at Enrique's decision.[21]

After being an unused substitute in a 1–1 home draw against Valencia, Deulofeu made his debut on 30 August replacing Vitolo in the 73rd minute of a 2–1 away win against RCD Espanyol.[22] He made his UEFA Europa League on 18 September, starting and providing assists for both goals in a 2–0 home victory against Feyenoord.[23]

On 24 September Deulofeu scored his first goal for the Andalusians (and also his first ever in the top flight in Spain), netting the game's winner in a home success over Real Sociedad.[24] His loan was considered hugely unsuccessful, the Spanish newspaper Marca selected him in their La Liga 'Worst team of the season'.[25]

Everton[edit] Deulofeu joined Everton permanently on 1 July 2015,[26] for a transfer fee reported to be £4.2 million.[27] On 22 September 2015, Deulofeu scored his first goal as a permanent Everton player, scoring the winning goal against Reading in a League Cup 3rd round tie. [28] He scored his first season league goal for Everton against Sunderland on 1 November 2015 on 19th minute. He hadn't scored a league goal for Everton since 16 March 2014 against Cardiff City.

Style of play[edit] According to the Daily Mirror, Deulofeu's style of play is comparable to that of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, due to a shared direct approach.[29] In January 2014, he was named by The Observer as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe.[30]

International career[edit] Deulofeu played for the Spanish under-17 team from 2009 to 2011, helping them finish runner-up at the 2010 UEFA European Championship. In the latter year he was selected to the under-19s, winning two consecutive European Championships and being selected best player in the 2012 edition.[2]

Deulofeu was selected for the senior side for the first time on 30 May 2014, as part of a 19-man squad to play a friendly against Bolivia, being given the number 7.[31][32] He played the last ten minutes of the 2–0 win in Seville as a substitute for Pedro[33] but, the following day, was not included in the squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[34]

Club statistics[edit] As of 1 November 2015.[35][36] Club Season League Cup[37] League Cup Europe Other Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Barcelona B 2010–11 1 0 — — — — 1 0 2011–12 34 9 — — — — 34 9 2012–13 33 18 — — — — 33 18 Total 68 27 — — — — 68 27 Barcelona 2011–12 1 0 0 0 — 1[a] 0 0 0 2 0 2012–13 1 0 1 0 — 2[a] 0 0 0 4 0 Total 2 0 1 0 — 3 0 0 0 6 0 Everton (loan) 2013–14 25 3 2 0 2 1 — — 29 4 Sevilla (loan) 2014–15 17 1 6 2 — 5[b] 0 — 28 3 Everton 2015–16 9 1 0 0 3 1 — — 12 2 Total 34 4 2 0 5 2 — — 41 6 Career Total 120 32 9 2 4 1 8 0 — 143 36 ^ Jump up to: a b All appearances in UEFA Champions League Jump up ^ All appearances in Europa League Honours[edit]

Deulofeu playing for Spain at the European Under-19 Championship Club[edit] Barcelona La Liga: 2012–13 Sevilla UEFA Europa League: 2014–15 International[edit] Spain U19 UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2011, 2012 Spain U17 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Runner-up: 2010 Individual[edit] UEFA European Under-19 Championship: Golden Player 2012[38] References[edit] Jump up ^ "Barclays Premier League squad numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gerard Deulofeu. Biography". Football Top. Retrieved 28 January 2014. Jump up ^ "Deulofeu debuta en Segunda A" [Deulofeu makes Second Division debut] (in Spanish). Barcelona's official website. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2013. Jump up ^ Marcet, Jaume (29 April 2011). "Gerard Deulofeu makes squad debut". Barcelona's official website. Retrieved 29 November 2013. Jump up ^ Marcet, Jaume (16 September 2011). "El filial se abona al infortunio (2–1)" [B-team marries misfortune (2–1)] (in Spanish). Barcelona's official website. Retrieved 29 November 2013. Jump up ^ "Messi to the fore once again". ESPN FC. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2013. Jump up ^ "Gerard Deulofeu's best goals for FC Barcelona". Barcelona's official website. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013. Jump up ^ "Blues sign Barça starlet". Everton F.C. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013. Jump up ^ "Everton sign Barcelona starlet Gerard Deulofeu on season-long loan". The Guardian. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013. Jump up ^ O'Keeffe, Greg (20 July 2013). "Barcelona back Martinez's Blues vision with Deulofeu loan". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 21 July 2013. Jump up ^ "Everton 2–1 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013. Jump up ^ "Everton 4–0 Stoke City". BBC Sport. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013. Jump up ^ "Arsenal 1–1 Everton". BBC Sport. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013. Jump up ^ Bretland, Elliott (19 December 2013). "Deulofeu set to return to Spain for treatment as he faces eight weeks out". Daily Mail. Retrieved 5 February 2014. Jump up ^ McGowan, Alistair (15 March 2014). "Everton 2–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 May 2014. Jump up ^ "Magic numbers: Roberto's record-breakers". Everton F.C. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014. Jump up ^ "Gerard Deulofeu will return to Barcelona after season-long loan spell with Everton". Daily Mail. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014. Jump up ^ "Gerard Deulofeu says goodbye to Everton fans in open letter as he makes Barcelona return". Daily Mirror. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014. Jump up ^ Guy, Peter (20 May 2014). "Barcelona new boss Luis Enrique insists Gerard Deulofeu will be in his first team squad". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 25 August 2014. Jump up ^ "Sevilla FC Y FC Barcelona llegan a un principio de acuerdo para la cesión de Deulofeu" [Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona reach an agreement for the loan of Deulofeu] (in Spanish). Sevilla's official website. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014. Jump up ^ "La Liga: Gerard Deulofeu admits surprise at Barcelona exit". Sky Sports News. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014. Jump up ^ "Espanyol 1-2 Sevilla". Goal.com. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014. Jump up ^ "Quick-fire Sevilla catch Feyenoord cold". UEFA. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014. Jump up ^ "Sevilla 1-0 Real Sociedad: Deulofeu scores first Primera goal as Sevilla become joint La Liga leaders". Inside Spanish Football. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014. Jump up ^ "Thomas Vermaelen named in Spanish league WORST team of the season despite playing just one game for Barcelona". Daily Mail. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015. Jump up ^ "Deulofeu Returns". Everton F.C. Retrieved 25 June 2015. Jump up ^ Association, Press. "Everton confirm £4.2m capture of Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-06-25. Jump up ^ http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10001877/reading-everton Jump up ^ Hall, Pete (11 July 2013). "Gerard Deulofeu scouting report: Everton's new Barcelona boy is more Ronaldo than Messi". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 February 2014. Jump up ^ "The next 10 big things: Europe's top youngsters and stars of the future". The Guardian. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014. Jump up ^ "World Cup 2014: Gerard Deulofeu called up by Spain for friendly". BBC Sport. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014. Jump up ^ "Oficial: Estos son los dorsales que lucirán nuestros internacionales ante Bolivia" [Official: These are the jerseys our internationals will sport against Bolivia] (in Spanish). Sefutbol. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014. Jump up ^ "2–0: Iniesta desatasca a España en Sevilla" [2–0: Iniesta gets Spain going in Seville] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014. Jump up ^ "World Cup 2014: Spain drop Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas". BBC Sport. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014. Jump up ^ "Gerard Deulofeu". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 May 2014. Jump up ^ Gerard Deulofeu at ESPN FC Jump up ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Cup and Copa del Rey. Jump up ^ Bryan, Paul (16 July 2012). "2012: Gerard Deulofeu". UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.