Barcelona announced on Monday that 19-year-old full-back Héctor Fort will join newly-promoted La Liga side Elche on a season-long loan with no option to buy.
Fort’s departure had become somewhat of a headache as we reached Deadline Day without a clear option for the right-back, who had been in talks with Mallorca for several days but was waiting for the Balearic club to sell Pablo Maffeo, an operation that would allow them to complete a deal for Fort.
Mallorca never managed to part ways with Maffeo and Fort was stuck, but Elche came out of nowhere and manager Eder Sarabia, a former Barça assistant, played a crucial part in recruiting Fort to join his Blaugrana teammate Iñaki Peña, who also joined Elche on loan last week.
Fort now gets a big opportunity to play regular first team minutes for an Elche side that’s off to a strong start this season, with five points from their first three games and zero defeats as they hope to make a survival bid in Spain’s top flight.
Barça never wanted to part ways with Fort and were hoping to find a spot where he’d play often to help his development ahead of his return to Catalonia next season, and Elche will certainly provide that.
Good luck at Elche, Héctor Fort!