One of the most prominent features of this season’s FC Barcelona team has been the high emphasis on the youth. One can argue that the recurring injuries to a high number of starters for the club has forced Xavi’s hand to rely more on youngsters, but still, there are very few clubs whose academy players can play at such a high level at very young ages.
Previous reports on the club also indicate that Barcelona are planning to give a lot of prominence to their youngsters in their next sporting project, and the club has already started working towards this end.
The Catalans recently agreed on a contract renewal with Diego Kochen, a highly promising goalkeeper playing for Juvenil A. Now, the journalist Santi Ovalle reports that the club is working to renew the contracts of three more players, i.e., Pau Cubarsi, Hector Fort, and Marc Bernal.
Pau Cubarsi has gained a lot of prominence in the last few weeks, as he played some crucial games for Barcelona when several other first-team players were injured or unavailable because of suspension.
The youngster did not show any signs of a lack of experience, and seamlessly adapted to the first team, and was quite impressive in the highest Spanish division.
Hector Fort also had to be called up by Xavi in the last month because of the dearth of options, especially after Alejandro Balde’s injury.
He also impressed whenever given the chance to play with the first team, and gained plaudits for his performance in the Copa del Rey tie against Athletic Club, even though Barcelona were eliminated.
Marc Bernal is yet to make his official debut with the Barcelona first team. However, as already reported here, the Catalans are expecting him to be the next player to make the jump from La Masia to the first team, and he can be the long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets in the squad.