FC Barcelona has been quite reliant on the qualities of their youngsters to pull them through in recent years. While it is also true that the same can be said for the club’s golden period, it is now more about survival than thriving at times. Yet, with Hansi Flick’s arrival, Barcelona can dare to dream about reclaiming their place again.
Players like Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Fermin Lopez, and many others have already given the club enough evidence to feel hopeful about. As the days and matches go by, that hope only continues to grow and the club aims higher and higher.
Even now, ahead of the clash between Barcelona and Monaco in the UEFA Champions League, German coach Hansi Flick has decided to include two young 16-year-old cousins in his squad list for the upcoming match, and it seems that he remains greatly impressed by La Masia as a whole, as he revealed in his official press conference, highlighted by Fabrizio Romano:
“I like what I see from La Masia players. When we need them, we call them up. Currently, we have Toni and Guille with us.”
As for Toni Fernandez, Hansi Flick was quick to note that his footballing fundamentals are excellent, and that there is a reason why he has been training with the first team since he was only 15 years old:
“When Toni Fernandez first trained with us, he was still 15. He has an excellent footballing base. I am impressed by La Masia.”
While it is unclear whether or not both Toni and Guille Fernandez will feature against Monaco at some point, but there is no denying the quality that they both possess. Two very prominent talents from the quarry, they have a bright future ahead and that is clear to see for anyone.
As for the bigger picture, a win against Monaco is exactly what Barcelona want from their next game. In this new UCL format, every point will count and La Blaugrana will want to make sure that they have as much of a cushion as possible to help them secure their place in the next phase.
