Youngster starved of minutes at Barcelona could exit this January | OneFootball

In terms of young, talented midfielders, Barcelona have an embarrassment of riches – it might be the only aspect in which they do. In addition to Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Pedri, all competing for starting places, the likes of Nico Gonzalez has ended up leaving for minutes.

He ended up heading to Valencia, where he was having a mixed season under Gennaro Gattuso. Yet Nico went down against Villarreal on Saturday and it turns out he will miss the next three months with a metatarsal fracturer.

According to Fichajes, Los Che may look to fill that gap with another Barcelona youngster. While Franck Kessie has been on the outside looking in, 19-year-old Pablo Torre has seen just 108 minutes of action this season. Arriving this summer from Racing Santander, the fierce competition at his position has limited his participation significantly. Los Che are interested in doing a deal until the end of the season for Torre.

On the face of it, it is a move that could work for Barcelona, but it will be up to Xavi to decide where his development would be best served. He has said he will have ‘important minutes‘ in the Copa del Rey against Intercity.

Torre is by no means a similar player to Nico, particularly not in the deeper role that Gattuso has used him. He does have the look of an excellent ‘interior’ though, and Valencia could still offer him more minutes further up the pitch. In addition, Gattuso has publicly confirmed interest in Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez, who would make much more sense as a more defensive option.