Putting their faith in youngsters has always been a key part of the Barcelona foundations. The Catalan club is well-known worldwide for its competitive youth academy and the quality that it has been able to generate for the Blaugranes over the years.
Moreover, the recent arrival of former Barcelona player Deco as the club’s new Sporting Director has only acted as a catalyst to further ensure the participation of youngsters. Stars like Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez are only the most recent of additions to the dynamics of the first team.
However, there is yet another star, not from the academy this time, that Deco has his eyes set on. Hailing from Sao Paulo in Brazil, 18-year-old Gabriel Moscardo is the latest attraction for Barcelona and Deco seems quite intent on ensuring his next step in football takes place in the Catalan capital, reports SPORT.
Technically Gifted
The current understanding regarding Moscardo’s abilities is that he is a mature player in terms of his game reading, possesses exceptional technical ability, and has a leading character paired up with his strong presence on the field. Currently playing for Brazilian side Corinthians, Barcelona have already informed them of their interest in the player.
The Brazilian angle
For Deco, this operation is reportedly a great desire. Having previously been fundamental in ensuring Vitor Roque commits himself to Barca, he is now after another Brazilian born in 2005 just as Roque himself was.
The Barcelona director was previously heavily involved in the Brazilian market during his time as an agent and was even key to the operation that saw Raphinha arrive in Catalonia after leaving Leeds United.
Betting on the future
From a financial perspective, this bet on Moscardo stays in line with their new ideals. Given their limitations and being unable to pursue the world-class talents that are already established, SPORT has boiled down their alternatives to essentially three different kinds of transfers.
The ideal scenario, as per the report, remains to capture free agents of elite quality such as Ilkay Gundogan. Then comes the prospect of bringing players in who are currently not at their best in terms of relations with their clubs or are actively looking for a way out such as Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo.
Lastly, one that remains in line with both Vitor Roque and now Gabriel Moscardo, is to bet on aspiring youngsters and develop them into world-class stars. For Barcelona, Moscardo would end up being the long-term solution to their pivot position for which they currently only have Oriol Romeu as the specialist.