With the vast majority of his first team players not available for the start of preseason due to their participation in the World Cup, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has spent plenty of time with the bright young stars of La Masia in the last couple of weeks, and three names in particular have caught his eye.
The coach spoke to the press on Monday after Barça’s final training session in England and was asked about the players who have impressed and surprised him the most out of the youngsters in training camp, and the coach chose 16-year-old attacker Ebrima Tunkara, 17-year-old midfielder Orian Goren, and 19-year-old Xavi Espart.
“Ebrima Tunkara is a great talent, as is Orian Goren. And Xavi Espart played very well as a number 2 (right-back) in the match against Birmingham, and both in the game and in training he has made it clear that he is a top-level player. This is what I have seen in the last three weeks.”
Tunkara is one of the most exciting prospects La Masia have produced in recent history and Espart has already been part of the first team dynamic for a while, so those two names aren’t a surprise.
Orian Goren might not be known to those who don’t follow La Masia closely, but his performance against Birmingham shows why Flick likes him: Goren was very composed on the ball and delivered simple but effective passes to keep attacks going in rhythm, and showed excellent positioning in and out of possession.
La Masia will never let Barça down.
