Barcelona’s impressive victory over Rayo Vallecano came with an asterisk as Marc Bernal went off with what looked like a serious injury in the dying minutes of the game after a reckless challenge from an attacker.
The worst has been feared since with us covering a story that the general assumption is that Marc Bernal has torn his ACL. The 17-year-old was so good against Rayo and it is an absolute shame that we might not see him again this season.
Hansi Flick admitted that the win over Rayo felt like a ‘sad victory‘ in the aftermath of Bernal’s injury. One feels bad for the talented 17-year-old but this injury is an absolute disaster to Barcelona who don’t have another recognized pivot in a similar profile to Bernal.
As per SPORT, should Barcelona not be able to find a replacement in the summer, they could look at La Masia which always provides them with answers. The report proposes two solutions to replace Bernal this season.
The first name proposed is Marc Casado. Hansi Flick has been using him more as an #8 during his time here but the 20-year-old has played at a positional #6 during his youth days. He might not be as disciplined as Bernal but he can certainly do a good job there.
The other option that Barcelona have is turning to Pau Prim from the academy who is also considered the second coming of Sergio Busquets. The 18-year-old is a year older than Bernal but is stylistically similar to him.
The only question mark is whether Pau Prim is ready for the step up to the first team but most players who come through La Masia seem to settle in quite comfortably into the senior team. Barcelona don’t have many other options at the moment.
It’s highly unlikely that we have the room to sign a pivot who has the caliber to play for Barcelona. Instead of going down the Oriol Romeu route, it would be better to place trust in La Masia and move forward, wishing Bernal a quick recovery.
