Seven Barcelona youth gems who caught Hansi Flick’s eye during U-19 fixture – report | OneFootball

Ever since he arrived at FC Barcelona, manager Hansi Flick has made it a point to keep a close eye on the up-and-coming youngsters within the club’s academy.

Indeed, the German tactician has been closely following the Barça Atletic and the Juvenil A (U-19) squads to unearth exciting youth prospects who can be the next big star for the first team.

To that end, this past weekend, Flick was in attendance for Barcelona U-19 side’s fixture against Badalona, which the Blaugrana prospects won 2-1 after a hard-fought battle.

Flick was keeping a close watch on the proceedings and Mundo Deportivo now highlights the seven youth prospects who have caught the first-team manager’s eyes with their performances.

Xavi Espart

The 17-year-old Xavi Espart donned the captain’s armband for Barcelona’s Juvenil A side against Badalona and operated at right-back even though he has largely played as a pivot in his youth career.

Espart, as such, could be a player of a similar profile to Marc Casado, who has earned Flick’s trust this season. The teenage La Masia ace also had minutes with Barça Atletic against Andorra a week back and has been called up to train with the first team already once by Flick.

Nico Marcipar

The 16-year-old Argentine starlet is regarded as one of the most talented young centre-backs in La Masia.

A left-footed player with good ability on the ball, Marcipar has already made the leap to Juvenil A despite his age and is considered an exciting prospect with a bright future at the club.

Alex Walton

Alex Walton (R) scored the winner for Barça U19 vs Badalona (Photo courtesy: FC Barcelona)

Signed from EF Gava in the winter transfer window earlier this year, Alex Walton was the match-winner for Barcelona U-19 against Badalona this weekend, scoring the winning goal in the 85th minute.

A left-back by trade, the teenager is technically sound, reliable in defence and backs it up with attacking intent.

Brian Farinas

One of the hottest prospects in La Masia, 18-year-old Brian Farinas was one of the highlights of the win against Badalona. The midfielder scored the opening goal and set the pace of the game from the midfield.

Last season, Farinas participated in two matches with Barça Atletic, providing an assist, and also trained under Xavi’s orders with the first team.

Quim Junyent

One of the youngsters who was part of the first team’s pre-season tour of the USA, Quim Junyent made an impression on Flick and his staff even though he was tried out of position on the flanks instead of his natural habitat in the centre of the park.

Quim Junyent is one to keep an eye on. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

The 17-year-old has a great knack for linking up with his teammates and looking for the best solution to create danger and is certainly one to watch out for, having been called up to train with the first team at times already.

Hugo Alba

The 18-year-old striker has been with Barcelona since 2019 but has been unable to make the kind of mark he would have liked. Last season, Alba barely played, although he did score a goal in his three Youth League appearances.

Alba, who was called up to train with the first team by Xavi last year, is eager to make the most of his chances for Juliano Belletti’s side this season.

Jan Virgili

Signed this summer from Nastic, Jan Virgili is one of the big bets of this summer in the youth categories of Barça. Last season he scored 18 goals in 28 games with Nàstic’s youth team and now he wants to continue improving in the Catalan capital.

On his debut with the Juvenil A, he scored a brace against Huesca to lead Barcelona to a triumph and last week he was called up by Flick to participate in the first-team training.