Barcelona boss Xavi has his eyes on 18 youth talents in La Masia – report

To say La Masia has seen a resurgence in recent years would be an understatement. After a period of prolonged silence, the Barcelona academy is back in full swing, producing talents set to dominate the world of football.

Alejandro Balde, Nico Gonzalez, Gavi, and Ansu Fati are some of the players to have made their name from the academy in recent years. The latest entrant on that list, Lamine Yamal, is now one of the biggest talking points in Spain.

The gold mine is still active

According to Mundo Deportivo, Xavi Hernandez has not lost sight of the other talents in the esteemed academy.

The manager is maintaining a close eye on the development of up to 18 players and maintains constant communication with the Masia coaches.

Rafa Marquez and Oscar Lopez, the heads of Barça Atletic and Juvenil A respectively, are both in touch with the first-team coach and are working hard to identify talents early.

Guille Fernández, Toni Fernández, Pau Cubarsí, Noah Darvic, Mika Faye, Marc Bernal, Aleix Garrido, Pau Prim, Marc Casadó, Héctor Fort, Dani Rodríguez, Vicens, Marc Guiu, Unai Hernández, Diego Kochen, Juan Hernández, Gistau, and Pedro Fernández are the names Xavi is keeping a tabs on.

In fact, some of the prodigies have already trained with the first team and are on the brink of breaking through. Casado and Garrido are some of the youngsters who have already made their debut with the senior team.

Another young talent, Pau Cubarsi, has become a regular in training under Xavi and is one of the academy’s biggest defensive prospects.

New signings are equally impressive

Barcelona’s subsidiary teams are aimed at giving locally grown talents a chance to play against worthy opposition and take a stepping stone to the next level. However, not all members of the subsidiary setups are graduates of the academy.

Players like Noah Darvich and Mikayil Faye signed for Barça Atletic earlier this summer and have already been creating ripples with their strong performances.

Needless to say, Xavi Hernandez is taking note of their development as well and sees them as candidates to count on in the long term.