Two new La Masia talents called up to Barcelona first-team training today by Xavi
As Barcelona gear up to take on Granada in La Liga later this week, they have had to deal with a myriad of injury and fitness problems.
As has been already established, Alejandro Balde and Gavi are out for the season while the likes of Marcos Alonso, Raphinha, Sergi Roberto, Joao Felix, and Ferran Torres are also recovering from injuries.
On top of that, Vitor Roque will also miss the weekend clash through suspension after being sent off against Alaves last weekend. Given the absences, Xavi will once again likely be forced to name a number of players from the youth and reserve teams in the squad list vs Granada.
Two new faces join training
As such, during today’s session a plethora of players from Barça Atletic as well as the youth teams, 11 in total, were spotted training under Xavi’s guidance, reports Mundo Deportivo.
Lamine Yamal, Hector Fort, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Guiu and Diego Kochen may still be youth players in essence but have become regulars in the first-team squad, with the likes of Yamal and Cubarsi even playing very regularly of late.
Along with them, four players from Barça Atletic – Marc Casado, Pau Victor, Mikayil Faye, and Unai Hernandez, were also called up to train with the first-team squad today.
And along with the aforementioned players, there were also two novelties in the form of Quim Junyent and Brian Fariñas.
Junyent, 16, is a central midfielder who plays for the Juvenil A side and has featured twice in the UEFA Youth League this season. As for Farinas (17), he is also a midfielder and part of the Catalans’ Under-19 setup with five appearances in the Youth League.
Neither player is expected to make the squad list against Granada this weekend, but the exposure will hold the teenage talents in good stead for the future.
The good news is that Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Raphinha are expected to receive their medical discharge in time for the weekend’s clash.
