Barcelona young defensive duo in the focus of the first-team staff

The ongoing campaign has seen FC Barcelona hand first-team call-ups to a host of youth talent.

Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez have established themselves as members of the senior squad while talents like Marc Guiu, Hector Fort, and Pau Cubarsi, among others, have all trained and been part of the senior squad on occasions.

Faye, Mbacke also in the focus of the first team

Now, German Bona of SPORT is reporting that two more young talents, Mikayil Faye and Mamadou Mbacke, are very much in the focus of the Barcelona first-team setup.

Both the defenders arrived at the club during the summer transfer window and have joined the Barça Atletic setup under manager Rafa Marquez.

But their performances for the subsidiary outfit have meant that the senior setup is taking a close look at both the Senegalese starlets.

Faye, 19, has already been on Xavi’s agenda for a while now, with the left-footed centre-back even travelling to the USA for the pre-season tour in the summer.

Since then, he has trained with the senior setup on several occasions and is knocking on the doors.

As for Mbacke, the 20-year-old signed for Barça towards the end of the summer window but bureaucratic issues stopped him from playing for the reserve team until recently.

During that time, the centre-back trained with the seniors under Xavi and caught the eye of the coaching staff.

What has Marquez said?

Both Faye and Mbacke impressed during Barça Atletic’s recent 4-1 win over Sabadell in the RFEF First Division.

Speaking after the match, Rafa Marquez praised the centre-back pair, saying: “They both provide security and also both have a lot of quality to get the ball out, they move well, that’s how the first corner was played, and then defensively they both understand each other very well.”

If the pair keep up this level of performance, a first-team call-up for both Mbacke and Faye might not be very far.