We’ve seen a rapid rise of loan deals which often have an option to buy included in there, but if a player is truly out of favour then it’s always going to be preferable to sell them on a permanent basis.
Barcelona have a situation at left-back where Jordi Alba is still good for a year or two but injuries will catch up with him, while Junior Firpo simply hasn’t developed into the eventual successor like they hoped.
Firpo is a good La Liga player but he’s not good enough for Barcelona, and it means that an exit is likely this summer.
A report from Football-Italia has indicated that West Ham and AC Milan are both looking to sign him in this window, but the Hammers are in the stronger position because they can afford to simply buy him outright.
Milan want a loan deal before reviewing the situation next summer but Barca would prefer just to move him on, while a move to West Ham should be more attractive as he’ll get a fair chance to push for a spot instead of being the backup again as Theo Hernandez won’t be dropped by the Italian giants.
Milan do have Champions League football on offer and that could always tip the balance in their favour, but a move to the Premier League does look like the more likely option here.