Time will tell if Ronald Koeman actually gets more than a year to make a mark on this Barcelona side, but he does appear to be making more of an effort to get the youngsters into the first team squad.
Football-Espana recently reported that outstanding young talent Ilaix Moriba was being promoted to the B team after excelling at youth level, so it was always going to be interesting to see how long it would take him to force his way into the senior setup.
It looks like he only needed a couple of days to make an impact, as he’s now been listed as part of the first team squad which will face Granada this weekend:
?? [SQUAD LIST]
?? #GranadaBarça pic.twitter.com/QrmgKDoDnZ— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 8, 2021
It’s really promising news for the Barca fans because the midfield has been packed with veteran players who can’t run and it has made them fairly one-dimensional in recent months, so someone like Moriba could play a big role going forward.
He’s brilliant on the ball but he’s also got some pace and power to help him break forward and cause genuine problems with his movement, so hopefully he gets a chance to get on the pitch and show how good he can be.