Barcelona have asked Watford if they can borrow Gerard Deulofeu back for the second leg of their Champions League tie against Chelsea after only managing a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Deulofeu made mincemeat of Antonio Conte’s side in a recent 4-1 win for the Hornets, and Barca boss Ernesto Valverde fancies a bit of that at the Camp Nou in three weeks’ time.

He told Football Burp: “Lionel Messi is good and all, but that was his first goal against Chelsea in how many attempts? Loads, apparently.

“So here’s our proposal for Watford – give us Gerard back for the second leg, and we’ll let you have Messi the next time you play at Stoke on a cold Tuesday night.

“Because frankly we’d all like to know the answer to that one.”