The Spanish club announced on its website late Monday that Jeffren had been given permission to leave Barca's preseason tour in the United States to “negotiate his contract” with Sporting. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola told reporters in Miami that “(Jeffren) has helped us a lot in the last three years, but given his age we thought it better that he play more.” Last season, the 23-year-old Jeffren played in 13 games with his sole goal coming in Barcelona's 5-0 thrashing of Real Madrid. Jeffren helped Spain win the under-21 European championship earlier this summer.