Over the years we’ve seen plenty of young Barcelona players leave the club to search for first team football, and that could become more common.
Barca have made an obvious shift from relying on young players to trying to plug any gaps with expensive veterans, and it could be disastrous for their long term future.
The young players are finding it harder and harder to force their way into the team, and The Daily Mail have reported that Chelsea could be the latest side to benefit.
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They claim that Frank Lampard’s side are leading the race to sign 18 year old defender Xavier Mbuyamba from Barca, with the youngster drawing comparisons to Virgil van Dijk in recent months.
They also claim that these comments have come from his agent, so it’s interesting to see what his main aim is here.
It’s possible he just wants to get his client a move to further his career, but it could also be a ploy to force Barcelona to give him a place in the senior squad and to give him more opportunities next season.
The Dutch defender only signed for Barca last season and it sounds like he’s been impressing for the development sides, so it will be interesting to see if he makes a move this Summer as he looks to force his way into a first team somewhere.