Christian Tello open to Barcelona return

Spanish footballer Christian Tello could return to Barcelona for the final year of his contract after Fiorentina decided against exercising the buy option on his loan contract.

The 25-year-old joined La Viola on an initial six-month loan in January 2016 which was extended by a further year last summer.

Tello, who has attracted previous Premier League interest, has not quite lived to his early hype, and he is currently assessing his future with a Barcelona comeback also an option under new boss Ernesto Valverde.

We will have to assess everything, but Tello could even continue in a Barcelona shirt -- he has a contract until 2018. The player belongs to Barça. We're talking, but also with other clubs. There are some diverse options for his future." his agent Josep Maria Orobitg told Tuttomercatoweb.

Tello made his first-team debut for Barcelona during the 2011-2012 season, and he bagged over 20 appearances in the next couple of years. However, the arrival of new boss Luis Enrique in 2014 did not do any favours to the one-time Spain international, who found himself further down the pecking order.

The La Masia graduate therein pursued a move to Primeira giants Porto, where he was highlighted as a flat track bully after failing to make an impact with the big teams. Tello has since experienced another 18-month loan spell in Florence, where he has not done enough to earn the reward of a permanent contract.

With his contract running down in a year's time, the player will be eyeing a new challenge elsewhere with English duo Arsenal and Liverpool having previously held an interest in his signature. Barcelona have made surprise inclusions in their first-team squad in the last couple of years, and Tello could get a second chance just like Denis Suarez, who rejoined the club from Villareal last year.