FC Barcelona continue to trust in their younglings, as now appears another young gem who may soon get his shot at catching the European spotlight. The 19 years old Aleix Garrido is just the newest on board when it comes to potential talents from La Masia getting a shot at the first team.
An old teammate of Gavi’s with the Barcelona U-19s, while the latter has made his way and cemented his place in Barca’s first team, Garrido seems to be now taking the same path towards wanting to make a claim for himself as well.
Standing at 1.70m, and possessing a not particularly imposing build, at first glance Aleix Garrido seems a bit unathletic. Yet, the value of this youngster, similar to many La Masia greats, lies in what he can do with the ball at his feet. Possessing a mature sense of the game, his reading of the field and where to play his next pass is astonishing for someone his age. His ball control, passing range, mobility, and dribbling are all massively strong traits of his.
Recently, Xavi Hernandez also specifically heaped praise on the youngster, suggesting even that he may be a reliable alternative to Pedri himself:
“Aleix would have been called up before, but he had an injury. I like him a lot. He has talent and that final pass that, when we lack Pedri, is what we miss the most.”
The player has been absolutely tearing apart the UEFA Youth League, having scored once and assisted an impressive 6 times in 6 games. Now, as rotations are expected in Barcelona’s La Liga Santander clash against Elche, it would not be not a surprise to see Aleix Garrido get minutes and get to make his debut under Xavi Hernandez and once more play alongside his former teammate Gavi.
