Getty
Promising Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde has been ruled out of action for six weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage.
The Catalan giants confirmed the bad news on Wednesday. Balde picked up the injury in Barcelona B’s final pre-season friendly against Cornella on Saturday.
Balde will now miss the start of the new campaign with Francisco Javier García Pimienta’s reserve team. Barca B begin their 2020-21 season on Sunday against Nàstic Tarragona.
The 17-year-old has only just been promoted to the B team from Juvenil A, the club’s Under-19 side. He has been handed the No. 24 shirt for 2020-21.
Follow the Heavy on Barcelona Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
Balde to Get First-Team Chance?
Balde will be hoping he can impress with Barcelona B when he returns from injury and catch the eye of first-team boss Ronald Koeman. The youngster has a chance to nail a spot in the reserve team now that Sergio Akieme has gone on loan to Almeria.
Koeman does have issues at left-back too. First-choice Jordi Alba turned 31 in March and is nearing the end of his career, while Junior Firpo was brought to the club to provide competition to Alba but has struggled to make much of an impact.
Indeed there has been speculation Barcelona could look to cash in on the 24-year-old. The defender was available at the “right price” over the summer, according to Alejandro Segura at Marca.
Barcelona’s difficult financial situation means they could be tempted into selling Firpo in January if an attractive offer arrived, although that would leave them short of options at left-back.
Barcelona Youth Impressing
Balde is not the only Barcelona B player that the club will be hoping can go on and make the breakthrough into the first team. Midfielder Ilaix Moriba is fast making a name for himself and has already put in some eye-catching performances.
Find yourself a teammate to assist you like Ilaix Moriba ⚡️
Moriba has been included in Barcelona’s Champions League squad for 2020-21 along with fellow B team players Iñaki Peña, Arnau Tenas, Oscar Mingueza, and Konrad de la Fuente.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Ilias Akhomach made his debut for Barcelona B on Saturday which is bound to generate excitement. The teenager has already been dubbed the “new Lionel Messi” by Patrick Kluivert which shows how highly he is rated at the club.
The players will have hope they can follow in the footsteps of Ansu Fati. The 17-year-old went straight from Juvenil A into the first team at Barcelona and has gone on to cement a place in the senior squad despite his young age.
Fati has also gone on to make his international debut with Spain, becoming his country’s youngest ever goalscorer when he netted against Ukraine in the Nations League in September.
READ NEXT: Barcelona Make Massive Decision on Riqui Puig’s Future