Barcelona have completed the signing of 21-year-old La Liga right-back

Barcelona’s pursuit of star talents such as Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Cesar Azpilicueta, among many others, have been well documented this summer, as the Catalans look to shore up their ranks ahead of the new season.

However, Barça are also scouring the market for hidden gems across Spanish and European football, as part of the club’s policy to promote young talents.

Barcelona have notably brought in Emre Demir and Pablo Torre ahead of the new season, with Xavi particularly having high expectations from the latter.

In another such coup, the club appear to have completed the capture of Alvaro Nunez, a 21-year-old defensive talent who was plying his trade for Athletic Club’s reserve squad up until this past season.

The news of the capture was confirmed in an interview by Iñaki Arechabaleta, the pre-candidate for the presidency of the Athletic Club subsidiary, as revealed by Diario SPORT.

A native of Bilbao, Nunez had been a part of the club’s youth setup since an early age, until he played out his contract at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Currently a free agent, the youngster has been snapped up by Barcelona.

Nunez will be roped in as part of the Barcelona B squad. A right-back by trade, he will have to fight for his breakthrough in the reserve side, which is to be led by Sergi Barjuan once again despite uncertainty over his future in the past few months.

Barcelona’s plight in the right-back department has been well-documented lately, especially with the club expected to offload Sergino Dest in the coming summer.

Dani Alves is not expected to continue beyond the end of 2022 either, while potential new signing Cesar Azpilicueta is already in the twilight of his career, thus paving the way for Nunez to make a breakthrough to the senior side.

However, with no prior experience in top-flight football, Nunez has a long way to go before he can establish himself as a first-team option for FC Barcelona in the near future.