Celta Vigo have agreed terms with Sevilla to sign Nolito outside the transfer window.

A club statement read: "RC Celta closes the long awaited return of Nolito. He will be incorporated immediately, in the absence of a medical examination and contractual details." 

The Galician club availed of a controversial rule that gives special dispensation to teams to sign players already playing in Spain outside of a transfer window under special circumstances.

Nolito, a winger, has ostensibly been brought in as a replacement for goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez who suffered a knee injury in May and was ruled out for five months, the minimum time the Royal Spanish Football Federation's rules permit for a club to make emergency signings.

The rule first came under scrutiny early this year when Barcelona were given permission to sign Martin Braithwaite from Leganes three weeks after the January transfer window had closed, following injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.

Faced with the prospect of trying to avoid relegation without their top goalscorer, Leganes asked for permission to make an emergency signing of their own but were subsequently denied.   

Nolito returns to Celta having already spent three seasons with the Balaidos side, making 103 appearances and scoring 39 goals, before signing for Manchester City in 2016.

The 33-year-old joins other Celta players Iago Aspas, Rafinha, Denis Suarez and Santi Mina who also left the Galician club only to return in recent years.

Celta are 17th in the LaLiga table, just two points above the relegation zone with nine games left.