Barcelona continues to focus on their youth development play with the signing of defender Gerard Martin from UE Cornellà on a two-year deal.
This is the second signing in 24 hours, following the arrival of striker Diego Percan from Cultural Leonesa. Both players will join Rafael Márquez’s Barça Atlètic side for the 2022/23 season
The signing was confirmed by the official FC Barcelona website.
✍ Acuerdo con la UE Cornellà para el traspaso del jugador @geraardmartin al Barça Atlètic
— Barça Atlètic (@FCBarcelonaB) July 19, 2023
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🙌 ¡Bienvenido!#ForçaBarça 💙❤ pic.twitter.com/SDRuEaSCAx
The left-footed defender can operate as a left-back or a left-sided central defender, and standing at 6’1 he has the ability to dominate in the air.
Technically very gifted on the ball, Martin shows the ability to play out of defence which will stand him in good stead next season.
There will be plenty of competition for the central defensive positions next year with Chadi Riad returning and new signing Mikayil Faye already making an impression with the first-season this summer.
Martin spent his early years at EF Performance and Sant Gabriel, but it was only when he got to UE Cornellà, that he started to accelerate his development, reaching the senior team in 2021/22.
He made 36 appearances last season with the majority of those coming as a central defender, and it’s expected that he’ll continue to play in that role for Barça Atlètic this season.