Spanish defender set to miss out on Barcelona first-team registration – report

According to a report by Javi Miguel, Barcelona cannot register their central defender Oscar Mingueza as a first-team player because of a shortage of squad numbers.

La Liga regulations stipulate that only the numbers 1 to 25 can be used to register first-team players.

Currently, Barcelona have 23 players as first-team members with finalized kit numbers. With the exception of the number 10, which no one is likely to take this season, and number 25, which is usually reserved for goalkeepers, there are no numbers available to assign to the youngster.

The Spanish international will likely be registered for the B team to play the coming game against Getafe.

With Mingueza still being a reserve player yet to be assigned a number, August 31st is the deadline for the Catalan club to register him with the first team. However, if he is registered with the B team now, the youngster will have to wait till January before he can be officially promoted.

There is still a slim chance for the club to open up the numbers 8 and 23 by player sales. However, until Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti’s potential transfers are finalized, the situation is worrying.

Phillipe Coutinho finds himself without an assigned kit number at the moment as well. The #14 he wore last season has been given to Rey Manaj as it stands.

The only option for the Brazilian is to take up the vacant number 10, with all the pressure that comes with it. However, Coutinho could also take the number 8 if and when Pjanic’s departure is confirmed.