Unlimited talent! The young talents of La Masia who guarantee the future of Barça

FC Barcelona has the best youth academy in all of Spain. La Masia is synonymous with success and has not stopped producing extraordinary players who have made history for the Catalan team. Now, a new group of talents is standing out, which is extremely positive for two reasons. The first is that if a player is promoted to the first team, the club can save a lot of money by not having to go to the market and the second is that they have a coach willing to give them the opportunity to play at the highest level.

And after the success of players like Lamine Yamal, Héctor Fort, Fermín or Pau Cubarsí, the club should not worry too much about the future. Especially since the youth academy seems to be becoming more and more competitive and, inspired by the stories of their teammates, they could strive even harder to be considered for the first team. All this has been possible thanks to the director of youth football, Jose Ramon Alexanko, who works every day on strategies so that all the coaches and players can work on improving in each session and can soon make the leap to professional football.

Although it is difficult for everyone to reach or stay in the first team, the fact of having an opportunity is already a step forward. And that is what Flick is willing to do, who was sharing and evaluating some of them in the preseason. There are even some who could soon receive the invitation to play in the first team.

A golden generation at Barça

Some players born in 2007 and 2008 are being a sensation at La Masia. Andrés Cuenca is one of them. The Andalusian left-footed centre-back is a player with a lot of technique and after his time at Sevilla, he is now working in Barcelona to improve his defensive work and will be a starter this season in the reserve team. At Can Barça they see him as the perfect partner for Pau Cubarsí in the future. They are both from the same generation and have played together in the past, so it would be a great bet for the next few years if all goes well.

If we talk about the 2008 generation, there are several standout names such as Toni and Guille Fernández. The players are cousins ​​and are each 16 years old. In the case of Guille, he made his debut in the reserve team at 15, being the youngest player to do so and he is a midfielder who has already trained with the first team on several occasions. Toni is a forward and is considered one of the best talents at La Masia but is still developing and it remains to be determined whether he will be a midfielder, winger or false '9'.

Flick has talent for midfield

Should Flick look for a midfielder, there are two who stand out from the crowd. One of them is Pedro Fernández. The Galician is known as 'Dro' and is a very creative player with a special touch with his right foot. Last season he led the Cadet A, alternating between the positions of inside midfielder, winger and false 9.

The other important Pedro at La Masia has the surname Rodríguez and is a midfielder with great vision of the game. Last season he scored more than 10 goals between the Cadet A and the Juvenil B. This summer he had the opportunity to go to another club, but decided to follow his dream of making his debut in the first team at the Spotify Camp Nou.

What about the forwards?

Of course, the attack cannot be missing in any team. One of those who stands out is Sama Nomoko, born in 2008. He is a right winger born in Mali but with Spanish nationality. He is a very good player at attacking spaces, offering depth on the wings and this season he will be part of the Juvenil B. He has already been at La Masia for 8 seasons and is the fastest striker in the youth team.

Another who is being talked about a lot is Óscar Gistau, who is part of the '9' project that exists in the youth team. He is excellent with high pressure, knows how to work on the wings and is decisive in the area. He is 16 years old and renewed this year with the Blaugrana club until 2027. He is the pure center forward with the greatest projection at La Masia and many clubs wanted to sign him this summer, so they quickly 'tied' him to the project. This season he will play with the Juvenil A.

The best short-term options

Although Marc Bernal was one of Flick's favorites for this season, his serious injury will prevent him from playing so the German only has Marc Casadó and Eric García as alternatives to occupy the midfield position. The first has already shown himself to be a strong candidate, but in the reserve team there may also be a fight to show who deserves to be the number '6'.

One of them could be Pau Prim, a third-year youth player who wants to make the jump to the first team. He is 18 years old and is working hard to continue growing. He is very good at a technical level and has defensive skills with which he could aspire to be the defensive pivot. He is waiting to renew his contract, because it ends in June 2025 and this limits his options.

Finally, Dani Rodriguez could also fight. He is an interior that can also perform as a left-footed winger. His enormous technical ability and dribbling skills allow him to play both inside and outside. Last season he played for Barça Atlètic and had a prominent role in the UEFA Youth League, however, he is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.