FC Barcelona have a strong tradition of developing young talent, and Xavi is also taking this custom of the club quite seriously. This is clearly seen from the number of youngsters present in the pre-season training camp being orchestrated by Xavi.
As Mundo Deportivo has reported, there are 12 players from the youth ranks present at the ongoing pre-season camp at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. Furthermore, 6 of these 12 players are very young.
Two of these six players are only 16 years of age, including Hector Fort and Pau Cubarsi. Lamine Yamal is yet to turn 16 but will reach this milestone this Thursday.
Diego Kochen, Pau Prim, and Marc Guiu are all 17. In addition to these six players, there are other slightly older players who already have gathered significant experience in the lower levels.
These include Mikail Faye, who is 18 years old and only recently arrived at the club. Similarly, the midfielder Unai Hernandez is also only 18 years old. Angel Alarcon, Estanis Pedrola, and Marc Casado are all 19 years of age, while Fermin Lopez is 20 years old.
In addition to these players from the Barcelona youth academy, other teenagers are also expected to join this pre-season camp in the coming days. These include Gavi (18 years) and Balde (19 years) who are established components of Xavi’s first team but have not yet joined the training camp. Gavi is still on vacation, while Balde is recovering from an injury he suffered in the 2nd last league match of the 2022-23 season.
The presence of all these youngsters further supports the point that Xavi does not take into account only the age or experience of players, but the quality is the primary merit on which players are selected. Thus, the players have a good opportunity of developing under a competent manager and should strive to take as much advantage from this opportunity of training with the first team as possible.
