Sevilla chief plays down talk of Luuk de Jong returning from Barcelona

Sevilla president Pepe Castro has played down talk that Luuk de Jong could return to the club in January from Barcelona.

De Jong left Sevilla for a season-long loan with the Catalan giants on deadline-day and was apparently a specific request by former coach Ronald Koeman.

The 31-year-old struggled to make much of an impression under the Dutchman, scoring just once in nine outings, and his future is now uncertain following Xavi’s arrival.

There have already been reports that De Jong is not in Xavi’s plans and Barca will look to offload the striker when the transfer window open in January.

Yet that all seems to be news to Castro. He told Deportes Cope, “At this time we are not contemplating the return of Luuk de Jong.

Sevilla may be in the market for a replacement for Youssef En-Nesyri who is expected to be out for a while due to injury but Castro wants to wait to see how serious the problem is first.

“Let’s see the extent of the injury because there are injuries that it takes time to know how long the recovery will last,” he said. “If there is a need to sign we have the best sports director in history. If we have to do something, we will do it.”