Alex Collado has always been held in high regard within FC Barcelona. But the versatile midfielder has been unable to showcase his quality and potential at the highest level so far in his career.
After enduring a difficult 2021/22 campaign during which he was not registered for the first half and had a loan stint at Granada in the second, Collado was tipped to become a part of Xavi’s plans this season.
But after failing to make an impression in pre-season, he ended up at Elche in the summer transfer window of last year, signing for the minnows on a season-long loan deal.
And it is safe to say that the 24-year-old has not had the best time in his temporary spell at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
Indeed, as we enter the final phase of the season, Collado has played just 14 times in all competitions for Elche, scoring and assisting one goal apiece. Although, it must be noted that he missed three months of action due to injury.
Nevertheless, as per Tomas Andreu of SPORT, Barcelona believe that Collado’s loan spell at Elche has not gone as well as they had hoped. And the La Liga leaders will again look to offload the midfielder in the upcoming summer, either on loan or permanently.
Collado will return to Barça at the end of the season and, in all likelihood, will do the pre-season with the first team under Xavi. However, the plan for the club is to offload him as they continue their efforts to cut costs and reduce their salary mass.
Collado’s contract with Barcelona expires in 2024, so they can get some transfer fee from his sale. It must be noted that 20% of that fee would go to Elche as part of the agreement that the Blaugrana reached with them last summer.
But the club are said to be open to a loan exit for the academy ace too, as long as they are lowering their wage bill. It remains to be seen how things pan out for Collado over the coming months.