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Ex-Barcelona star Alen Halilovic happy with regular football at Las Palmas

Former Barcelona youngster Alen Halilovic hopes regular football at Las Palmas will help to kickstart a promising career which stalled at Hamburg earlier this season.

The Croatia international joined the Bundesliga side from Barca last summer in a deal worth €5 million, but made just one start before being sent on loan to Las Palmas in January.

Halilovic has already made eight appearances since returning to La Liga -- where he played last season with Sporting Gijon -- and impressed in Friday's 4-3 loss to Espanyol, setting up his side's third goal.

"I am very happy to be here with [Las Palmas]," he told ESPN FC after the seven-goal thrilled at Cornella-El Prat.

"We play very good with a lot of possession and make a lot of chances. I think every game we have to be more concentrated because we get a lot of goals [against us] in the last few matches. But I feel good here.

"I prefer this league, I think it's good for me. Especially this team because we are playing good football."

Halilovic has been loaned to the Canary Islanders for 18 months and they have an option to sign him permanently from Hamburg next summer.

Barca had originally maintained an option to re-sign the 20-year-old -- who became Croatia's youngest ever international when he was 16 -- for €10 million, but gave it up in order to facilitate his return to the Spanish league.

However, sources have told ESPN FC that sporting director Robert Fernandez still keeps tabs on Halilovic -- as he did with Denis Suarez when he was sold to Villarreal -- although the player himself says there's no contact with the Catalan club.

"No I don't speak now with them [Barcelona] because I have here one-and-a-half years, not just half year," Halilovic added.

"I am very focused to play good here. I am here only one month [so far]. I need more time to meet these guys, the coach, the city also. But I think first month was good to me, I play every match and that's the most important for any player.

"We will see after, but I think now only about Las Palmas. I feel very comfortable here and I hope I will stay here."

Despite falling out of contact with the Blaugrana, Halilovic remains attentive to what's going on at the club -- never more so than this week, when Luis Enrique's side produced the Champions League's biggest ever turnaround against Paris Saint-Germain.

"I watched the Barcelona game, it was incredible," he said. "I am very happy for them.

"I am especially happy for [Ivan] Rakitic, I saw also he signed a new contract for his birthday -- congratulations to him. I was very happy because of him, because he's my friend and he helped me a lot."