It’s amazing to think we are at a point in football where a 15 year old is seeking to leave Barcelona because he feels his path to the first team is being blocked, but that’s where we are just now.
A report from The Daily Record via The Mirror has suggested that Man City have beaten Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea to the signing of Barcelona wonderkid Juan Larios. They indicate that he can’t move until he turns 16 next month, but he’s now expected to link up with City.
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They go on to suggest that a big part of his reason for leaving is he feels that Jordi Alba is blocking his path to the first team so he needs to go elsewhere. If that is his reasoning, you have to question whoever is advising him.
Firstly, Man City don’t have a glittering history when it comes to promoting young players to the first team so it’s unlikely he would see any first team action any time soon.
Secondly, he’s only 15 so he should still be focusing on growing and developing at this point. It’s possible for a 16 year old to play professional football, but it’s more common to see a player make the step up once they reach the age of 18 or so.
Jordi Alba turns 31 next year so if Larios waited a few years until he was ready to step up, then Alba would be in his mid 30’s and it’s unlikely he would still be playing every game for Barca at that point.
Hopefully he has other reasons for leaving and things turn out well for him, it’s certainly another name to look out for in a few years time.