Barcelona has cancelled 24-year-old Cristian Tello’s loan spell at Porto, sending him instead on loan to Fiorentina until the end of the season, the Spanish club confirmed.
Tello was 18 months into his two year loan at Porto which began in July 2014. He was a mainstay last season, scoring eight goals and assisting seven others in 25 league appearances in Portugal. However this season, Tello has logged just 507 minutes this season in 16 appearances, starting in just four games. He has not scored a goal.
The Barcelona release infers that Tello’s dip in form was due to the sacking of former Porto manager Julen Lopetegui, who favored Tello heavily during last season. Tello has not even appeared in a match since Lopetegui’s removal in early January.
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The winger has now been sent to Italy, where he will try to help Fiorentina, who has stumbled with a pair of losses to AC Milan and Lazio in their last two league matches. The club sits just two points out of a Champions League place.
Tello was also linked with a move to Liverpool. According to reports from Italy passed on by The Telegraph, the six-month loan to Fiorentina includes an option to buy valued at around $8.5 million.
