Barcelona have announced their first team squad for the upcoming season and there was one glaring omission as Cristian Tello was not handed a squad number, despite having a superb debut season under former boss Pep Guardiola.

The 20-year-old made 22 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions last season and was even handed the chance to impress in the Champions League, which he grabbed with both hands by scoring two goals on his European debut against Bayer Leverkusen.

Cristian Tello
Cristian Tello has been left out of the Barcelona first team squad [Reuters]

His performances caught the attention of a number of clubs from around Europe, including Premier League side Liverpool who were repeatedly linked with the attacking midfielder earlier this summer.

Liverpool were able to watch Tello in recent weeks as he was a member of the Spain squad that suffered great disappointment at the London Olympics as they were knocked out of the tournament without scoring a single goal.

However, these performancess are unlikely to discourage clubs from showing an interest in Tello who scored three league goals in 15 league appearances for Barcelona last season.

Spanish newspaper Marca has reported that Tello has not received a squad number, with new manager Tito Vilanova instead giving the opportunity to Martinn Montoya, Marc Bartra, Jonathon dos Santos and Marc Muniesa from the youth squad.

Tello may now be considered for the Barcelona B team but there were suggestions that he would consider his future if he was not considered part of the first team squad.

With the return from injury of Ibrahim Afellay and the impressive form of Isaac Cuenca, it seems there is no place for Tello who does have just one year remaining on his contract at the Camp Nou.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is still in the process of improving his squad and has thus far just managed to sign one player in striker Fabio Borini.

The Reds have been heavily linked with a number of midfielders, but they are desperate to find some width on the right-hand side of midfield after Dirk Kuyt was allowed to leave the club and Jordan Henderson, who played in the position last season, is seen more as a central midfielder.

London