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Many players have had the misfortune of being dubbed the “new” Lionel Messi over recent years, including one of Barcelona’s own starlets Ilias Akhomach.
Academy director Patrick Kluivert has already tagged the youngster with the unwanted label after some impressive performances for the club’s youth teams, according to Cadena SER.
Akhomach is now 16 and made his debut for Barcelona B on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the team’s final pre-season friendly against Cornella.
💥 Ilias Akhomach ha debutado con el Barça B en el Estadi Johan Cruyff
💥 Ilias Akhomach ha debutat amb el Barça B davant el Cornellá
💥 Ilias Akhomach makes Barça B debut
👏 ¡Muchas Felicidades! Moltes felicitats! Congratulations!
#ForçaBarça💙❤️
The youngster had only trained with the B team twice before taking to the pitch for Francisco Javier García Pimienta’s side and put in the type of performance that saw fans getting excited about the future.
Saturday’s match was the reserve team’s final pre-season friendly before they kick off their league campaign next weekend. Akhomach is not part of the official Barca B squad yet, but it will be interesting to see if García Pimienta opts to use the 16-year-old going forwards.
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Praise For ‘Cheeky, Brave’ Ilias
García Pimienta did praise the 16-year-old after his debut and suggested he is pushing for a place in his team for the 2020-21 season, according to Sport’s German Bona.
“It was the last game of preseason and we had players out and he’s already shown that he’s pushing with the youth teams. He’s a cheeky, brave player with a lot of quality, but he’s only 16.
“We have very young players and we can’t load them with too much responsibility. What’s clear is that the academy is bringing through a lot of players and he’s one that we will have in mind this season, for sure.”
Akhomach is the latest youngster to emerge from Barcelona’s academy and will be hoping he can follow in the footsteps of 17-year-old Ansu Fati. The striker made the breakthrough into the senior squad last season, going straight from the team’s Under-19 side to the first team.
Fellow youngsters Riqui Puig and Ronald Araujo have also been promoted from Barcelona B to the first team for 2020-21 and will be hoping to get chances to impress under manager Ronald Koeman
Bright Future at Barcelona?
There has been criticism that Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy has failed to produce top talent over recent years, but the emergence of Fati and Puig suggests that’s wide of the mark.
Akhomach could be the next player to make a big impact at the club, while midfielder Ilaix Moriba is also highly regarded. The 17-year-old has already had to put up with comparisons to Paul Pogba but told Goal’s Ignasi Oliva Gispert he doesn’t mind too much.
“Everyone tells me that I look like Pogba and I must say I like it. But Busquets and Iniesta were the ones who made me play in midfield. My dream is to be with [Lionel] Messi, Busquets and all of them, to see if I have the opportunity to train or play a game.”
Ilaix is one of five Barcelona B youngsters included in the first-team squad for the 2020-21 Champions League. He joins Iñaki Peña, Arnau Tenas, Oscar Mingueza, and USA winger Konrad de la Fuente on the list which highlights the young talent currently coming through at the Camp Nou.
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