Barcelona have struggled to find a top-class striker in La Masia
Last time Barcelona had the opportunity to show that La Masia was still an important part of the club, the management passed it over by sanctioning the loan signing of Jeison Murillo. But now, Munir’s departure has allowed the club the chance to make up for that mistake.
Éric Abidal is targeting short-term replacements for the La Masia graduate who can be brought in on loan, with the players on the shortlist being Odion Ighalo, Álvaro Morata and Fernando Llorente. Apart from Morata, who will be very hard to sign, none of them are up to the mark.
But Ernesto Valverde has said that a call-up from Barcelona B to solve the crisis is an option. That avenue is one that can be explored, not just to fulfill the short-term goals of the season, but also to act as the catalyst to propel the team into a new era.
Abel Ruiz is among the finest young talents in Europe. The 18-year old La Masia graduate was not that prolific for the Juvenil A team, but immensely important in the club’s UEFA Youth League victory last season. This season, he has scored 2 goals in 11 appearances for Barça B.
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His numbers for various youth levels on the international stage for Spain are prolific. Across all youth levels, he has scored a staggering 39 goals in 40 appearances. Ruiz led Spain to a Under-17 European Championship win. He is clearly the future of the Spanish national team.
A call-up to the first-team squad would be a huge step up for the youngster. But with risk comes reward. The starlet could crumble under the pressure, having never appeared in any competitive games for the senior team in the past.
But on the other hand, he could do what so many of his predecessors have done, and prove everyone wrong. In fact, Lionel Messi was not prolific for Barça B and C, but was a huge success for Argentina’s youth sides. Abel Ruiz has the ability and potential to become the next Messi.
Barcelona should take this opportunity and promote Ruiz to the first-team squad. It would provide an internal solution to this striker problem that the club is facing. He returns from a hamstring injury next week, and would be match-fit in a week or two.
Abel Ruiz deserves this chance, and he has the ability to make it count.