Having to deal with various casualties already, FC Barcelona have only just begun their official season and are already plagued with concerning injuries and suspensions that could potentially put the Catalan giants at a massive disadvantage heading into their upcoming games.
While Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez is still waiting for certain reinforcements to arrive before the end of the summer transfer window, namely Joao Cancelo and other operations that Barca may look to complete, he is aware that he also needs short-term solutions before they arrive.
The injuries to both Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo and Spanish midfield ace Pedri have left the Barcelona coaching staff with a huge headache and selection dilemma. Moreover, Brazilian winger Raphinha also has to complete his suspension for one more game by missing the Villarreal clash, another problem for Xavi to deal with.
As a result, the Barcelona coach understands that his best outlet to turn to in such a time of need would be the Barcelona subsidiary, which he has relied on even in the past whenever the Catalans have been faced by uncertainty and a lack of depth.
According to information provided by Spanish outlet SPORT, Xavi Hernandez has thus called up a significant total of 16 Barcelona subsidiary players to training ahead of the Villarreal clash that contains young talents specializing in various positions.
Four of these 16 players have already been training with the Barcelona first team prior to the other 12 arriving, these being Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Ander Astralaga, and Marc Casado.
Others such as 16-year-old German arrival Noah Darvich and Alvaro Cortes also repeat the training after having been called up on Thursday.
The new faces that join the Barcelona first team training this time around will be Pau Cubarsi, Hector Fort, Edu Sanchez, Pau Prim, Marc Bernal, Dani Rodriguez, Zacarias Ghailan, Unai, Pelayo, and Aleix Garrido.
It will be interesting to see which of these promising youngsters end up making the final squad list for Xavi Hernandez when Barcelona announces it before the side heads to the Estadio De La Ceramica to take on Villarreal away from home on matchday three of La Liga EA Sports.
