Xavi set to give minutes to 19-year-old Barcelona prodigy against AC Milan

As Barcelona gear up to take on AC Milan in their final pre-season friendly on the tour of the United States of America, manager Xavi Hernandez could decide to hand minutes to players who have not featured much so far.

Barça were scheduled to play four matches on the US tour, but the first game against Juventus was cancelled because the squad was affected by a stomach bug.

Following that, the La Liga champions played against Arsenal and Real Madrid, but Xavi did not use all the youth players at his disposal, with the likes of Ez Abde, Lamine Yamal, and Fermin Lopez the only youngsters to receive minutes.

But with the final game looming, that could be set to change tonight, as SPORT is reporting that 19-year-old defensive prospect Mikayil Faye will get an opportunity against AC Milan.

Faye impressing Xavi in pre-season

Barcelona signed young Faye only this summer, with the teenage centre-half arriving from Croatian outfit NK Kustosija.

The youngster has been brought in to reinforce the Barça Atletic roster, but Xavi called him up to pre-season training last month in the absence of Andreas Christensen and Inigo Martinez.

And the youngster is understood to have made a big impression on the manager and the rest of the coaching staff both with his physicality and technical ability.

Xavi paired Faye up with Ronald Araujo on several occasions during training sessions and the staff see the teenager as capable of partnering with the Uruguayan in the long term.

And, Faye’s impressive training displays will earn him his unofficial debut for Barcelona against Milan tonight in Las Vegas, be it as a starter or a substitute.

Fermin Lopez has already made a huge impact on the pre-season tour and Faye will hope to make a similar impression in whatever amount of game-time he receives.