Four games in and there are already four academy debutants for Hansi Flick's Barça!

FC Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has been betting on young talent at FC Barcelona. The German has already given four players the opportunity to make their LaLiga debut in this 2024-2025 season: Marc Bernal, Pau Víctor, Gerard Martín and Sergi Domínguez. The latter made his debut in the Blaugrana team's 7-0 win over Valladolid.

In the case of Sergi, the 19-year-old defender came on in the 61st minute of the match against Valladolid replacing Pau Cubarsí. The Spaniard had a more testimonial presence than anything else, but he makes clear the interest of the culé team in giving the opportunity to shine in the first team to the players from its youth academy, who in this type of match can take advantage to gain the coach's trust and be considered, or not, for the future.

Barcelona's young players who have made their debut in LaLiga

In the first league match of the season against Valencia, where Barcelona won by a score of 2-1, Marc Bernal, Gerard Martín and Pau Víctor made their debuts with the Barça first team. In Bernal's case, he was a starter at 17 years old. In the 2023-2024 campaign he played 29 matches with the reserve team and arrived at La Masia since he was very young and has been climbing through all the lower categories. However, in the match against Rayo Vallecano he suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and an associated injury to the external meniscus, which means he will miss the rest of the campaign.

Another who made his debut at Mestalla in LaLiga was Pau Víctor. The defender came on for Alejandro Balde in the 65th minute after the full-back asked for a change due to discomfort. He played a few minutes against Athletic Club and Rayo at the end of the match, although he did not play against Valladolid despite being called up. He is expected to have more minutes, especially when he starts the heaviest workload of the season.

Finally we have Gerard Martín, the 22-year-old defender had his first minutes as a professional against Valencia, because last season he was with the reserve team, which he joined in the summer of 2023 and where he played 41 games under the direction of Rafa Márquez. He did not play against Athletic or Rayo but he did have minutes against Valladolid. Flick is expected to continue giving these players and even others from La Masia some playing time this season, especially since he will have to give his starters some rest to avoid injury problems. Another point in favor of the German's management in Barcelona.