The ascension of Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig to the first team is again giving hope to those who believe that La Masia can answer some of the hardest questions for the club. Seeing Konrad de la Fuente against Nástic and Ilaix Moriba on the bench indicate the players that could be next in line. But what of the generation in the middle – Monchu, Álex Collado, Oriol Busquets, and Juan Miranda?
Collado is currently injured and may need to get back to fitness with Barcelona B until January when he may be able to get a loan move or a transfer away from the Estadi Johan Cruyff. Monchu and Sergio Akieme went sent down to train with Barça B before the first preseason friendly, indicating that they aren’t in Koeman’s plans. That is frustrating to note because Monchu could fit well in one of the double pivot spots and Akieme has shown at least in the third division that he deserved a chance to compete at left-back. Yet, Koeman didn’t see enough in training and that’s the final verdict.
Also awaiting his future is Oriol Busquets, who returned from a loan at Twente last season to a new coach that wasn’t impressed. He was sent down to train alongside Monchu and Akieme and will most likely go out on loan, though a sale is possible. It would be best for the 21-year-old to find his best position – either defensive midfielder or centre-back, and his next club needs to be where he finds that answer.
Like Busquets, Juan Miranda was out on last season too, at FC Schalke 04. It was supposed to be a two-year loan, but it was cut short due to inconsistencies in his play and a club in Schalke that is in turmoil themselves. Barcelona currently have Jordi Alba and Junior Firpo at left-back, so Miranda didn’t see the field against Nástic. It should be assumed that the club has been testing the market for Junior and keeping Miranda in case of the scenario where Junior is sold. The latest is that Miranda has been sent down to train with Barça B, indicating that his tryout is over.
Just because Miranda may be sent out on loan again this season (hopefully not sold with a buy-back since this board has messed that up every time), doesn’t mean that Culers need to give up on Miranda. He is still just 20-years-old and the failed loan to Schalke said as much about him as it did about the German side.
It’s hard to know what interest the Spanish left-back was getting prior to moving to the Bundesliga, but Schalke clearly wasn’t the answer. When he arrived, Schalke was a side with Champions League or Europa League aspirations. By the time he returned to Catalonia a few weeks ago, the German club had entered a rebuild. That’s not the fault of Miranda, but his progress on loan certainly wasn’t helped by the things going on there.
That’s not to say that the player doesn’t share some of the blame for his lack of progress in Germany. His decision-making was not the best and he struggled to combine with teammates. Moreover, his defensive style didn’t fit what Schalke was trying to do. He does have some height (185 cm), but he is much more natural at stepping in without fouling than he is pushing an opponent off the ball in a physical duel. His aerial abilities are satisfactory due to his height, but not necessarily a weapon.
Defensively, there are things to build on if he was in the right system. He is can play as a wing-back, but Miranda is still better as a traditional left-back. He has deceptive pace, but he won’t be making up ground and cutting out counter-attacks like Alphonso Davies, or even Jordi Alba for that matter. Instead, he needs to get his positioning right, and I think he would do well with a more marauding right-back on the other side.
Offensively, the La Masia blueprint is all over his game, for better or worse. Like Sergi Roberto, his combinations with teammates and ability to pass his way up the field are his best attributes. And like Barcelona’s current full-backs, he won’t be taking defenders on one-on-one. However, his crossing has improved and may be the attribute that has most contributed to a successive Spanish youth international career, where he has won both the U-17 and U-19 European Championships.
Miranda doesn’t necessarily do one thing better than anything else, which generally hurts young players trying to break into first teams. He doesn’t have glaring weaknesses either, but he has showed that being in a system that caters to his strengths is essential in getting something out of him.
Last year for Schalke he made 12 appearances, getting just one assist, in the DFB-Pokal, and looking out of his depth. One failed loan doesn’t make a career, and Miranda still has time to right the ship.
He has never really gotten a chance at Barcelona outside of a clash with Tottenham under Ernesto Valverde. Adding to that his time at Schalke, and he has never been able to regularly contribute to a first team. That is the goal for him this season, wherever that is.
It’s hard to know exactly what Koeman will want from his full-backs and none of the four (Roberto, Alba, Nelson Semedo, Junior) impressed against Nástic. Miranda isn’t at the level yet to provide proper competition, but if a year from now he’s had a successful loan and there is a manager in charge of Barcelona that heavily emphasizes La Masia principles (*wink), the left-back could still be the answer to a difficult question at the Camp Nou.
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.
