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Barcelona have rejected loan offers from Bayern Munich, PSV, and Borussia Monchengladbach for 17-year-old starlet Pedri.
The attacking midfielder only arrived at the club this summer from Las Palmas but has already attracted interest from teams across Europe. According to Toni Juanmarti at Sport, Barcelona said no to all three clubs and are keen for Pedri to stay.
Manager Ronald Koeman has used the youngster in all three pre-season friendlies against Nastic, Girona, and Elche and is “delighted with the performance and attitude” of the new arrival.
Certainly, Pedri has not been shy in showing off his silky skills:
Yet the youngster faces a battle for first-team minutes at the Camp Nou in 2020-21 and will have to compete with experienced stars such as Philippe Coutinho, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele for a place in Koeman’s starting XI.
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Koeman Tells Young Stars to Go Out on Loan
Koeman may not be contemplating letting Pedri leave the Camp Nou just yet, but the Dutch coach had advised the club’s other young stars to seek temporary moves to gain regular playing time.
“For me, the young players have to play. They can’t not play. That’s for Riqui, for Aleña, for Pedri… they have to play. I told Riqui that he has a future here but it’s going to be tough at the moment because of competition in his position. I recommended that he goes on loan. At 20, the young players need to play.”
Yet Koeman’s advice does not appear to have gone down too well with some of the club’s young players. Midfielder Riqui Puig and his father, who is also his agent, met with Barcelona sporting director Ramon Planes to discuss his future at the club on Monday, according to Catalunya Radio.
Puig insisted he wanted to stay and the two parties “have agreed” he will continue at Barcelona. Puig knows he will not be given many chances to impress but was willing to turn down offers from other clubs to try to prove himself at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona Set to Kick-Off Campaign
Both Puig and Pedri will be hoping to be involved on Sunday when Barcelona finally kick-off their new La Liga campaign at the Camp Nou against Villarreal.
It seems unlikely either player will make Koeman’s starting XI for the match, but the youngsters will be hoping for a place on the bench and some precious first-team minutes.
Villarreal have already played twice in La Liga. The Yellow Submarine opened up with a draw against Huesca but followed that up with a 2-1 win over Eibar.
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