<
>

Las Palmas secure loan signing of Sergi Samper from Barcelona

Barcelona have confirmed that Sergi Samper has joined fellow La Liga side Las Palmas on a one-year loan deal.

Samper, 22, spent last season on loan at Granada and returned to Barca at the start of the summer with hopes of earning a place in the first team.

The midfielder began preseason with Ernesto Valverde's side and started the International Champions Cup game against Juventus in New Jersey.

However, he was not given a squad number and was told by Valverde last week that he did not feature in his plans for the new campaign.

"I spoke with him [Samper] about four days ago, the idea being that it would be good for him to go somewhere," Valverde said in a news conference.

"He's not going to get many minutes here and he needs to accumulate minutes. He could be a good player here."

Since then, Barcelona have been looking for a suitable club for him to continue his development following last season's nightmare at Granada.

He started just 13 league games in a season which saw the club go through three managers and were relegated from La Liga.