Gavi

Giggsy13

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Shall we bring up Rooney jr who’s hitting the goal trail… Or Adam Berry who looks superb. Garner is 20 so certainly no longer an academy player. United always have hope, there are plenty of excellent prospects, but fans think they should be like Rooney and just be ready for the Premier League at 17. You don’t see that, that’s your issue.
I never doubted we have excellent prospects overall, but game changing midfielders from our academy have been hard to come by, which was my point. I think that’s pretty evident based on our first team, but as you allude to we have some coming up, good to know.
 

FatTails

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In fairness we have a wealth of ballers who will get their chance when the time is right.
Youngsters at Barca are getting their chance now for obvious reasons
You need to have patience
Btw our squad size is not unlimited, we can’t sign every talented youth
It’s not about ballers, it’s the type of midfielder. @Red_toad seems hellbent on getting mad at someone, not sure why. Either way, I’ve already lost interest in this debate. People are so touchy on here.
 

RooneyLegend

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He's not even a stand out talent. That's not to say he's not a great talent and all just Spain have so many kids who can flat out ball. Gil, Dias, Pedri, Puig etc.
 

RooneyLegend

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Another thing about these Spanish kids is they have a ridiculously high football IQ. You always think of youngsters needing to sharpen that side of the game but not with them.
 

Rozay

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Wasn’t looking for a history lesson. Other than maybe Garner who in our academy NOW offers the hope and potential of a Pedri or Gavi?
Garner offers no such hope in all likelihood. He’s nowhere near the likes of Pedri.

Hansen, Mainoo and Mejbri look the obvious answers to your question.
 

lloyd2wayne

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I really didn’t mean it as a moan. Thanks for reminding me of the transfers from over a decade ago though. Very helpful.
So Greenwood and Rashford never happened. We have soo many good academy players coming through in Elanga, Hannibal etc but here you are complaining that we never produce these gems.
 

FatTails

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So Greenwood and Rashford never happened. We have soo many good academy players coming through in Elanga, Hannibal etc but here you are complaining that we never produce these gems.
It’s not about gems? It’s about the type of player. Jesus.

And I am not fecking complaining, precious. Just wondering. God forbid I ask a question on a forum.
 

golden_blunder

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I get pissed of sometimes with our fans. They see young players making breakthrough at other clubs and equate it to United not doing it enough. Yet on the other hand they scream if they don’t get a big signing every summer and moan about catching up with the other big spenders. The pressure on United is different to most other clubs - fans expect winning and expect trophies. They’re spoilt. Sorry but you are. Even when fergie was bringing through the CO92 there was uproar when Villa won the first match. Let the process take place. Have patience
 

lloyd2wayne

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It’s not about gems? It’s about the type of player. Jesus.

And I am not fecking complaining, precious. Just wondering. God forbid I ask a question on a forum.
Asking a question to to criticize United with. What do you mean why don’t we? Why don’t Chelsea, Juventus, PSG, Real Madrid etc. it’s not just United who miss out on these type of players or produce them. You either buy when they are about to enter their prime like Kroos, Modric or put faith in a kid like Bellingham. But you can only do that if there’s no pressure on the team ala Dortmund.

Midfield is a position where academy players barely get a look in because it’s a difficult one. The only reason Barcelona had to even play Gavi because of the mess they are in and barely any good midfielders but De jong.

I’m not being precious, all I’m saying is it’s not only United but most teams barely produce top class midfielders.
 

Adnan

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The coaching has evolved in England but unfortunately it seems like the mindset of some fans hasn't evolved hence we still see people thinking physicality is a prerequisite for a youngster to get opportunities at first team level. Touch and technique is something that I personally have noticed people overlook in favour of physicality. And this about a youngster (Gavi) who is being talked about, not due to his Barca games but rather his games under Luis Enrique for the Spanish national team, which were against some of the best players in the world. Players like Marco Verratti who dominated our (England) midfield but got dominated against the Spanish who fielded a 17 year old who hasn't completed a full 90 minutes at first team level yet. The difference is very clear, certain coaches like Enrique for example can compete against the very best whilst also bringing through the talented youth. And bringing through the youth isn't seen as a weakness but it's seen as a strength, if you listen to Enrique who is a coach that has a defined way of playing the game which helps youngsters excel.

And as far as being patient is concerned, I would say being patient is bringing through a youngster and helping him become a mainstay in the team, instead of impatiently looking to solve all issues via the transfer window, which Solskjaer is doing imo. Being patient is bringing through Amad Diallo who is a big talent and spending the Sancho money on midfield. But that would require patience, ability to develop youngsters and a foresight which seems to be lacking amongst our manager Solskjaer.
 

AltiUn

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Or blocked in the U18/23 for 5 yrs (Hannibal)
Mejbri's only 18 and he's been injured most of the season, hopefully seeing Gavi and Pedri tearing it up in La Liga might inspire to be a bit brave and include 1 or 2 of our youngsters in the team.
 

Damien

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Gavi benefited hugely from the injury to Pedri, which has ruled him out now for another month. Without it he wouldn't have got anywhere near the game time he has done.

Basically similar to when Rashford broke through for us thanks to a Martial injury.
 

Lay

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Heard he had a bad game yesterday? Not surprising though for a 17 year old playing in the El Clasico
 

Niemans

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Heard he had a bad game yesterday? Not surprising though for a 17 year old playing in the El Clasico
It seems to me that he had a correct match, participated little in the elaboration of the game and pressured the opponent a lot. The one who had a horrible match was F. De Jong
Anyway his position where he shines is in the midfield on the left, yesterday he played on the right.
Mediocre match of both teams yesterday.
 
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Brwned

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Looks quality to me, I'd be over the moon if we had a homegrown player like him coming through the youth setup.
 

Hoof the ball

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Gavi, Pedri, Nico, Puig, Balde.

That's some serious collection of young talent Barca have. Add to that Trincao will return to them too. Xavi has a bunch of kids at his disposal who are perfect for his tactical profile.
 

Niemans

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Gavi, Pedri, Nico, Puig, Balde.

That's some serious collection of young talent Barca have. Add to that Trincao will return to them too. Xavi has a bunch of kids at his disposal who are perfect for his tactical profile.
Don't forget Ansu Fati, Dest could also evolve his football and learn from Dani Alves. After all these I am excited to see Ilias Akomach, he has great qualities, hopefully he will continue to evolve. Yusuf Demir seems to still need to improve a lot
 

Lord SInister

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It’s not about gems? It’s about the type of player. Jesus.

And I am not fecking complaining, precious. Just wondering. God forbid I ask a question on a forum.
because of style of play and how English football culture is.

Yes it is changing, but the core still remains the same. The likes of Scholes, Hoddle, Gascoigne and so on, were exception, and not some because of the how the coaching was set up.

Here box to box, all action, strong midfielders who take long shots and tackle are more worshipped. And nothing wrong with that, if everyone starts playing like Barcelona and Spain, where their will be fun.
 

kingwaynerooney

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Gavi, Pedri, Nico, Puig, Balde.

That's some serious collection of young talent Barca have. Add to that Trincao will return to them too. Xavi has a bunch of kids at his disposal who are perfect for his tactical profile.
I don't think trincao is going to return. That's a mandatory clause wolves are gonna have to pay which will go to barcas summer transfer funds.

Barca youth academy midfielderd, if they make it or not they have high football IQ, can't say the same for English academy products. Even though pedri isn't from la masia, he looks like a proper Barca product.
 

RedRover

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The coaching has evolved in England but unfortunately it seems like the mindset of some fans hasn't evolved hence we still see people thinking physicality is a prerequisite for a youngster to get opportunities at first team level. Touch and technique is something that I personally have noticed people overlook in favour of physicality. And this about a youngster (Gavi) who is being talked about, not due to his Barca games but rather his games under Luis Enrique for the Spanish national team, which were against some of the best players in the world. Players like Marco Verratti who dominated our (England) midfield but got dominated against the Spanish who fielded a 17 year old who hasn't completed a full 90 minutes at first team level yet. The difference is very clear, certain coaches like Enrique for example can compete against the very best whilst also bringing through the talented youth. And bringing through the youth isn't seen as a weakness but it's seen as a strength, if you listen to Enrique who is a coach that has a defined way of playing the game which helps youngsters excel.

And as far as being patient is concerned, I would say being patient is bringing through a youngster and helping him become a mainstay in the team, instead of impatiently looking to solve all issues via the transfer window, which Solskjaer is doing imo. Being patient is bringing through Amad Diallo who is a big talent and spending the Sancho money on midfield. But that would require patience, ability to develop youngsters and a foresight which seems to be lacking amongst our manager Solskjaer.
It's much easier for a player with those attributes to succeed at a young age in Spain, than it is elsewhere because the league is objectively less physical and they get more time on the ball. The intensity isn't what it is in the PL over a season. I'm not advocating one style over another, just pointing out the obvious.

Barca produced probably one of the greatest midfield 3's in history in Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, but they haven't had anyone reach that level since and the game has changed since then. The top sides across Europe have a level of physicality, especially in midfield.
 

Adnan

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It's much easier for a player with those attributes to succeed at a young age in Spain, than it is elsewhere because the league is objectively less physical and they get more time on the ball. The intensity isn't what it is in the PL over a season. I'm not advocating one style over another, just pointing out the obvious.

Barca produced probably one of the greatest midfield 3's in history in Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, but they haven't had anyone reach that level since and the game has changed since then. The top sides across Europe have a level of physicality, especially in midfield.
The top clubs around Europe also have a level of touch and technique which is easily identifiable and their coaching on the whole has been ahead of us when it comes to playing a structured brand of football in a proactive manner. It's only in recent times we've started to catch up because we've brought over head coaches from those leagues to improve standards.

The likes of Modric, Kroos, Kimmich etc have been/are the barometer in Europe's premier competition and they're all superb technicians above all else. Marco Verratti is another diminutive player and his touch and technique is for all to see. Physicality as far as work rate, comes to the aforementioned by default but even then, there's a purpose behind it rather than the headless chicken acts we've seen at United over the years.

My original point was that youngsters elsewhere have been getting opportunities and we can look at Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool who has brought through young Elliott after preparing a pathway way for him to come into the team. Kaide Gordon at 16 was given a start against prem opposition in the Carabao Cup with a view to preparing him for future seasons. Where as we've prioritized game time for Juan Mata in pre-season and the Carabao Cup when he clearly has no future at the club.
 
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Oly Francis

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Gavi, Pedri, Nico, Puig, Balde.

That's some serious collection of young talent Barca have. Add to that Trincao will return to them too. Xavi has a bunch of kids at his disposal who are perfect for his tactical profile.
Stop trying to make Puig happen :lol: He's just not that kind of player.
 

Niemans

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That position is going to be complicated for next year. Barcelona will have many players, in the b team will be Emre Demir, Kays Ruiz, maybe Xavi Simmons. Orellana is already 21 years old, or he is promoted or sold. Txus Alba comes strong too
 

Hoof the ball

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Please do, i've heard Barcelona fans telling me Puig is going to be the next big thing next season for maybe 5 years.
Victor Font said last year that Xavi told him that Puig "would be a starter" if Xavi managed the team.

Xavi is now managing the team.

Let's see is Xavi's evaluation of the player remains true less than a year after he made it.