Marc Bartra
Marc Bartra is going to stay at Barcelona until the end of the season Getty

Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez has revealed the club are likely to send Douglas out on loan before the end of the transfer window to give the Brazilian right-back more playing time. The club chief, however, insisted Marc Bartra will stay at the Nou Camp for the time being, despite reports linking him with a move to Schalke.

Douglas moved to the Nou Camp in the summer of 2014 to serve as back-up for compatriot Dani Alves after Barcelona agreed to pay €4m (£3.1m, $4.3) to Sao Paulo. But the 25-year-old has since failed to make any impact in Luis Enrique's side, getting only seven appearances under his belt.

More about Barcelona

The situation was expected to worsen in the second part of the campaign after the club recently added Aleix Vidal to their ranks, with the former Sevilla wing-back, Alves and even the versatile Sergi Roberto now ahead of Douglas in the manager's pecking order for the right-back role.

Fernandez has therefore admitted that the club are likely to find a solution in the current transfer window, sending him on loan to secure more playing time away from the club.

"Let's see. We will see if something beneficial comes along for the player and the club," the sporting director said to Movistar amid reports linking the Brazilian with Real Betis. "We want the best for the player and obviously we are interested in him to play."

Bartra, meanwhile, is also struggling to establish himself in Luis Enrique's plans. The Spaniard was linked with a move to the Premier League during the summer transfer window, but opted eventually to stay at the club to fight for his role.

However, he has started just three La Liga games in the opening run of the season, being the fifth-choice centre-back behind Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu. Recent reports in Spain had claimed Schalke were ready to take advantage of the situation and lure him to the Bundesliga.

But asked whether Barcelona will let Bartra move to the German side, Fernandez claimed: "No, no. We will not let him leave."

The sporting director, meanwhile, refused to give any update over potential new signings, amid the speculations linking the club with both Celta Vigo forward Nolito and Villarreal's Denis Suarez.