Barcelona: Oriol Busquets starts training with the rest of the team
Oriol Busquets is in the last stage of his recovery from a knee injury.
The knee injury struck Oriol Busquets at the worst possible time because he was starting to make a name for himself with impressive performances for the Barcelona B side and even made his debut for the senior side in the Copa del Rey against Real Murcia. He was clearly starting to impress Ernesto Valverde, but then he suffered a major setback.
According to Sport, the 19-year-old has entered the final stages of his recovery from the injury he picked up in February because he has started to partially train with the rest of the group. It’s likely to be a while before he is included in the matchday squads, but it’s a promising sign and suggests that it won’t be long before he is back to full fitness. He will have to prove himself with the B team once again before being considered.
There is plenty of competition for the back-up role to Sergio Busquets because Sergi Samper has returned from his injury and Arturo Vidal can also be used there, although the Chilean is a completely different type of footballer. Oriol Busquets is a hugely talented prospect, though, so it only seems to be a matter of time before he works his way into the first team.
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The major threat to the youngster is the potential signing of Frenkie de Jong next summer because of how they will be competing for the defensive midfield position, however, that’s likely to be a while away because Sergio Busquets has only just turned 30.
There could be a potential solution in the future where they are used as a double pivot such as a 4-2-3-1, but that would mean a shift away from the traditional 4-3-3 formation. De Jong has also been used as a ‘false centre-back’ at Ajax, although that would be a risky option.
The true test of Ernesto Valverde’s faith in youth is the amount of game-time La Masia graduates like Busquets, Carles Alena, Juan Miranda and Riqui Puig receive this season. It’s a tough task to develop these players and remain competitive, but the Copa del Rey provides the ideal opportunity.
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Barcelona have dominated the competition in recent times and barely received any recognition, so they might as well focus on the league and the Champions League with this competition being an added bonus, which should only be taken seriously if they get far while rotating heavily. All four of those players mentioned above could start along with more experienced players such as Munir El Haddadi, Jasper Cillessen, Clement Lenglet and Thomas Vermaelen.