Ilaix Moriba and Konrad de la Fuente will be joining Sergio Akieme, Jorge Cuenca, and Arnau Tenas in the first team’s shortened pre-season. The inclusion of these five Barcelona B players is actually due more to so many players being called up for international duty and not necessary the exodus of Lionel Messi and hypothetical exit of a few others.
The pandemic has certainly thrown a monkey wrench into the international calendar in addition to ruining Barcelona’s regular intercontinental pre-season tour. Usually the established players return from some kind of international competition midway through pre-season, so we’ll have to see how much time Ronald Koeman has to put his squad together.
Out on international duty are Ansu Fati, Sergio Busquets, Clement Lenglet, Antoine Griezmann, Francisco Trincão, Nelson Semedo, Frenkie de Jong, and Martin Braithwaite. Carles Aleñá, Riqui Puig, Pedri, Iñaki Peña, and Juan Miranda are joining up with Spain’s U-21s and for good measure, Rey Manaj from Barcelona B is meeting up with the Albanian national team.
The five players that were called up with a chance to impress is an interesting bunch, considering some of the alternatives. There was no Álex Collado due to injury, and the lack of Monchu news indicates that he may be on his way out shortly. Dani Morer, meanwhile, seems to be on his way to Portugal. The only other exclusion that is a little surprising is Jandro Orellana, who may have been kept with Barcelona B for some stability during their pre-season. New Barcelona B signings Gustavo Maia and Moussa Ndiaye are also being given the opportunity to integrate themselves into Pimienta’s plans.
Nevertheless, the five choices aren’t that surprising
- Ilaix Moriba is the highest paid teenager not with the first team and he has a bright future ahead of him. He isn’t a defensive midfielder, and I’m interested to see where Koeman thinks his best position is in the midfield. Pimienta usually tasks him with being the transition between the deeper midfielders (Orellana and Monchu) and the forwards, and in build-up play getting himself involved in attacks.
- Konrad de la Fuente is the name where my American bias shows through. I’ve long said that he needed to make a jump to ever get his first team debut, but this past season it appears that some kind of jump was made. He is more assertive, better with his weaker foot, and better with his decision-making. The first team went from having no healthy, natural wingers (with the exception of Fati) last season, but now the team appears to be loaded with that profile of player. This is actually good news for de la Fuente. If Barcelona are playing with two wingers that are to hug the sidelines, he may push himself onto the depth chart similar to the way that Carles Pérez did last season.
- This isn’t Jorge Cuenca’s first preseason with the first team and the left-footed centre-back is still a depth option at that position. Samuel Umtiti and Jean-Clair Todibo’s futures could decide if Cuenca is ever given a real shot at the fourth centre-back spot (behind Piqué, Lenglet, and Araújo).
- Arnau Tenas is there due to Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s injury, but the 19-year-old is extremely talented and may have been called up regardless, especially if Neto is sold.
- Sergio Akieme’s inclusion is interesting because Jordi Alba and Junior Firpo will both be around for pre-season. At 22-years-old, it’s hard to know how close to the first team Akieme is and what the depth chart there could look like if no one is sold and Akieme outplays one of the other two in pre-season.
The heartbreaking part of course for these youngsters is that Messi will not be around to learn from. The other dangerous angle is that the weight of the world may be placed on them by a fan base looking for someone to put their hope into. As was the case with Fati and Puig, hopefully the veterans like Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto will help them with that pressure.
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017.
