Report: Valencia, Barcelona working on Alen Halilovic loan deal

Alen Halilovic is one season away from being on Barcelona's main squad, and he will spend it on a big club.

After a successful first season on loan at Sporting Gijón, where he developed into an important member of the Asturian club, the Croatian sensation has been informed that coach Luis Enrique is excited about his future, but wants to see him have one more campaign in La Liga away from Barça before joining the big show.

Enrique wants the 19-year-old playing on a team with bigger ambitions than his childhood club, and one important Spanish side has already expressed heavy interest: Valencia has contacted Barça and the player to work out a season long loan for the young midfielder, with the promise of giving him a fair amount of minutes to continue his development.

Halilovic's agent, Zoran Stojadinovic, seemed on board with the idea when asked in a radio interview. "Valencia is the ideal club for him right now" was the quick, direct answer, and Barça director Robert Fernández has the same idea for Alen's second season in Spain.

From now until the summer, the teams and the player will work out the final details, but it looks very likely that Halilovic will stop at the Mestalla before finally heading to Camp Nou.