#youth-integration

#youth-integration

As Barcelona continue to battle a wave of injuries that has decimated Hansi Flick's first-team squad, the one silver lining emerging from this crisis is the renewed involvement of La Masia talents. The club's academy, long celebrated for producing world-class players, is once again stepping up to fill the void left by injured stars. Pedri's latest setback, which is expected to keep him sidelined for six to seven weeks, has forced Flick to rethink his midfield options.

The most talented, yes. The strongest, not yet. The one with the most potential, yes. It is infinite. In all positions, we have players who are starters for the best clubs in the world. But as a team, we are not stronger than the team that was world champion in 2018, or than the one that made the final in 2022.

"We had five different goalscorers [at West Ham] which shows the team is very ambitious and has a lot of quality," Cucurella told the club website. "We have new players who bring a lot of energy and quality. It's about teamwork and we all showed we can bring something to the team. All of us need to be important during the season. We have improved and we need to keep working.