Xavi wanted to call up 15-year-old Barcelona wonderkid for the pre-season

Barcelona have produced a number of jewels from their La Masia youth academy over the years and continue to churn out talents who can achieve greatness.

Ansu Fati, Gavi, Nico Gonzalez and Alejandro Balde have all become regulars in the first-team setup in recent times and are tipped for a bright future in the game.

More prospects continue to come through the ranks and one name that seems to be generating a lot of excitement is that of 15-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal.

The teenage prodigy is playing for Barça’s Juvenil A side, even though he should be a part of the Cadet A team given his age, indicating the potential that the striker, who can play as a winger, possesses.

Yamal was one of the ten youngsters who were called up for first-team training by manager Xavi Hernandez on Monday.

Following that, reports emerged claiming that the Barcelona first-team head coach is a huge admirer of the 15-year-old sensation and sees him as the best talent coming through La Masia in recent times.

Now, building on that, journalist Xavi Lemus states that Xavi has had his eye on Lamine Yamal for quite some time now. In fact, the 42-year-old club icon considered calling up the youngster for the pre-season programme earlier this summer.

While that might not have materialised, Xavi is keeping a close eye on his development and is making efforts to ensure that the 15-year-old wonderkid feels valued at Barcelona, as they look to tie him down to his first professional contract when he turns 16 soon.