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Admirers of Barcelona have been extremely vocal over the last few months about the negligence of their very own gold mine, 'La Masia', and it seems Bartomeu heard their concerns.
According to Bleacher Report (via Sport), one of the major points of discussion leading up to Ernesto Valverde's contract extension was the resurgence of La Masia. And reports say that Valverde has identified 5 players who he feels have a future at the club, players he will give chances to, thereby enhancing their growth. The 5 players are; Moussa Wague, Riqui Puig, Oriol Busquets, Abel Ruiz, and Juan Miranda.
This is no doubt a great agreement, and kudos to Bartomeu if true. But don't expect any of this to happen this season, and don't have any expectations of seeing these players play regularly in LaLiga any time soon.
What this deal most likely means
This agreement might not be as straightforward as it appears, not because of any secret pact, but simply because of the nature of Valverde. He prefers not to take risks and doesn't mind straining the star XI to milk out points in any competition. He has most probably named these 5 players as those with the highest chance of having a successful career in the first team.
Valverde will give these players a lot of chances in preseason, which anyway counts for nothing. Their performance at the preseason will decide if they continue to stay in his good books or not. Even if they perform well, the chance of them getting any LaLiga starts is very bleak, maybe the Copa at most because Valverde won't play inexperienced players in main competitions unless forced to.
In my opinion, the 3 that stand the best chance are Miranda, Ruiz, and Puig. The first 2 cover positions that are currently vulnerable at Barcelona, which might give them a booster start. The third one is Puig, purely based on talent, which he showed in enormous amounts when given the chance last preseason.
Moussa Wague could make an impact if he works on playing at RB, where currently the only competition for Semedo is out-of-position Sergi Roberto. Oriol Busquets is a great replacement for his namesake, with a very similar style.
Whatever Valverde intends, we have to start somewhere, and this is great news if true!
