Ernesto Valverde used part of his interview with the official site to praise the players coming through the Barcelona youth set-up.
In a recent interview with Barcelona’s official media, Ernesto Valverde confirmed he places a great importance on the youth players of the Catalan club.
Barça’s head coach kicked off his second year as the man in charge in a fashionable manner, as the Blaugrana claimed a 3-0 convincing win against Deportivo Alaves at the Camp Nou. Before Valverde and his men take on the newly promoted side Real Valladolid in their next La Liga challenge, el Txingurri sat down with the Barça magazine to give his thoughts and opinions on the academy players.
It has been quite some time since any La Masia footballers have received the golden ticket to the first team. The last case was Sergi Roberto, who is now an integral figure in the squad. But aside from the versatile midfielder and right-back, no other Barça B man has managed to find concrete a position within the team. Due to that reason, there has been much criticism surrounding the philosophy and style of the club. Many claim that in recent years things have taken a shift at Barcelona, as the club largely focus on signing foreign players; however, in the eyes of Valverde, that does not seem to be the case.
"“Barça always have to make a firm commitment to the youth players. Sometimes there are people who say: “If we bring the youth players and put them in the first team everything will work. But it is not always that simple. First, because there is an implicit requirement, and then, because of the high competition to play in the first team. However, it is true that we must support our youth, because they have certain qualities that external players do not. In the end, everything depends on the players more than anyone else.”"
There are several Barça B players who are ready to be promoted to the first team, such as Carles Alena, Riqui Puig, Juan Miranda, Oriol Busquets and Marc Cucurella. They have all made their debuts at the grand Camp Nou, putting in strong displays to convince Valverde they are prepared to play alongside Lionel Messi and Co.; however, the youngsters continue to remain under the order of Barça B coach Xavi Garcia Pimienta.
For now, it seems that left-back Juan Miranda will take over Lucas Digne’s spot as Jordi Alba’s substitute and midfielder Carles Alena will most likely be promoted to the first team.
Regarding Riqui Puig, the coach recognizes his enormous potential but at the moment nothing is clear whether the 18-year-old will feature with Valverde’s men this season. Despite getting the call-up for the preseason tour in the United States as well as for the Supercopa de Espana against Sevilla, time will have to tell whether the coach will bet on the La Masia product.