Celtic have been shown a template of how to do a deal for Patrick Roberts by the transfer of Gerard Deulofeu from Barcelona to Everton.
The midfielder arrived at Goodison Park in the summer of 2015 from Barcelona for a £4.3m transfer fee.
Crucially Barcelona have the month of June to buy the 23-year-old back or a fee of €12m.
Although it makes things awkward at the moment, and more complicated by the player moving on loan to AC Milan in January, it does provide all parties with a stake in the players development.
If Barcelona buy Deulofeu back they can’t sell him within a year which prevents them from cutting a quick profit by selling him elsewhere without kicking a ball at the Camp Nou.
Whether Roberts returns to Celtic is a closely guarded secret dependent on the attitude of the player and Manchester City.
Exceptional talent that the 20-year-old is, he is highly unlikely to be pushing Raheem Sterling out of the City side.
If Celtic could stretch to an £8m fee allowing City to buy the player back for £16m in 2019 it would seem like an ideal solution for all involved.
Celtic get a top quality player for another two seasons, if Roberts really kicks on he can be back at City in 2019 as a Champions League player with Celtic making a tidy profit.
Making the best of the loan system is a complex business, two years ago Jason Denayer was a promising Belgian internationalist that had just enjoyed a season alongside Virgil van Dijk.
This summer he’s returning to City following relegation at Sunderland that has did nothing for is career or value.
The Roberts transfer saga is likely to run through the summer, a Deulofeu type deal would be the ideal present for Celtic fans and hopefully satisfy both clubs and most importantly the player as well.