Barcelona: 5 youth team players Koeman must give a chance to

#4: Pedri

Pedri was signed from Las Palmas and loaned back for the 19-20 season. Still only 17-years-old, he has an enormous future ahead of him. But he cannot be allowed to stagnate in his growth as a player.

Rather than wallow in the depths of the Segunda B division with Barcelona B, Pedri has to be allowed to feature or at the very least train with the first team this season.

He says his inspiration is Andres Iniesta, Koeman has to allow the young kid to prove himself, because not only is it part of the club’s mantra to promote youth, Barcelona desperately need a player to pick up where Iniesta left off.

It is unlikely he will feature as a consistent part of the team, but he has to be played and shown by the manager that the path to the first team isn’t blocked by big names and superstar signings.

#3: Carles Alena

It’s now or never for the La Masia graduate who spent most of last season on loan at Real Betis. Unbelievably still only 22-years-old, Alena should be given the opportunity to prove that he has future at the club.

In Andalusia,  he featured consistently off the bench and against his parent club played the full 90 minutes, a man possessed, obsessed with the idea of proving a point.

It is Koeman’s imperative to do so.

Alena has the personality of a future club captain having led the youth teams through the divisions, he has the talent, touch and grace of a player that has been carefully crafted in La Masia, and most importantly he has the ability to find pockets of spaces and take risks with his passes, both of which the current crop of Barcelona midfielders just don’t do.

If Alena is given a chance, and if he pounces on it, the club might not have to look in the transfer market for its future.