Barcelona sign Estanislau Pedrola for Juvenil A team

While the situation with the first-team recruitment continues to be a bit precarious due to the financial turmoil, Barcelona are continuing to bolster their academy ranks aggressively.

As reported by SPORT, the Blaugrana have now landed promising forward Estanislau Pedrola ‘Estanis’ from the Fundacio Futbol Base Reus.

A former trainee of the Espanyol youth academy, Estanis was forced to move to Reus football base due to his height, where he developed himself physically while also polishing his game a great deal.

Xavi Castro, the current president of Fundacio Futbol Base Reus has hailed him as one of the best young forwards in the country, adding that his physical development over the past year has been critical in Estanis regaining his confidence.

“As a youngster he was already the best striker in Spain. This year he has made the physical change. He has put himself at 185 centimetres and that has helped him a lot.” 

Estanis’ progress at the Reus training centre had sparked a lot of interest with Barcelona and arch-rivals Real Madrid said to have been battling for his signing. In fact, it had been reported that Los Blancos were in advanced negotiations to land the young winger before the Catalan giants entered the race.

But, it is Barca who have come out on top over their arch-rivals at the end of the day, landing the services of Estanis. The youngster, who is now headed to La Masia, will join up with the club’s Juvenil A outfit and has signed a three-year contract.

Barcelona have seen an influx of players into the B team as well recently, having brought in the likes of Yusuf Demir, Jordi Escobar, Ferran Jutgla among others. Estanis will play with the Juvenil A side for one year before moving to the B team for the remaining two years of his deal.