Who are the La Masia 7 selected for Barcelona’s tour of the USA?

Marc Casadó

Position: Defensive midfielder
Age: 19
Joined Barcelona: 2016
Senior Caps: 0

Earlier this summer Barcelona president named Marc Casadó as a potential future replacement for Sergio Busquets, although it’s recently been revealed that Xavi has handpicked Pau Prim for that role.

Casadó was just 13 when he moved to Barcelona from fellow Catalonia resident Damm, and he’s worked his way up to a prominent member of the Barca Atlètic team under Rafael Márquez.

The combative and cultured defensive midfielder made 34 appearances in the third division of Spanish football last year and looked at home controlling the game from his deep-lying position.

He’s a tenacious tackler, and sometimes that results in some poor tackles and yellow cards (7 in 34 games last year), but he’s extremely hard-working and has developed technically over the last 12 months.

Lazio has historically shown interest in Casadó, but his inclusion in the touring squad shows how well-respected he is within the Barca management team.

There is a good chance that we see Casadó in the senior squad at some point this year, especially considering he was named on the bench for Barca’s crunch Europa League tie against Manchester United.