Why Marc Bartra Is the Player Barcelona Should Loan Out in January

A few days ago, Marc Bartra turned 25. He is midway through his career at the top level. And yet, he's still stuck in the same spot as he has been the past few years.

If he looks around him in the dressing room, he will see a player who should be his reference point: Gerard Pique.

Pique is now the flag-bearer for what Barcelona centre-backs should aspire to be, a serial winner, and he has developed into a leader, too.

When Pique was Bartra's age, not only did he have the experience of moving to England between 2004 and 2008, but he was also an established member of the Barcelona first team.

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He had played a key role each season for four years, featuring 45, 49, 51 and 38 times.

Bartra, by contrast, is relatively inexperienced. About to hit his prime and with half his career gone—that is not a good position to be in. He is a victim of Barcelona's success.

In 2013-14 he managed to feature in 30 games, the most he has recorded. Last year, that dipped to 25 games.

This season, he has played 17 times, but only eight of those have been starts. Worse still, one of those was in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen, a dead rubber, and two came in the Copa del Rey against minnows Villanovense.

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Luis Enrique clearly does not trust Bartra, although the coach is loath to let him go, per Sport's Juan Manuel Diaz: "Lucho considers Bartra important in his squad which has to fight on three fronts - to retain La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League - even though his minutes have been limited thus far."

The Spanish newspaper say Sevilla want to sign Bartra on loan for the rest of the season.

Barcelona's manager didn't like being pushed on the issue and told Sport he knows it's not nice for Bartra, but he just has to go along with it for now. Enrique said:

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No, I’ve not spoken to [Bartra about being on the bench]. We’ve got a bigger squad now, which means we can’t pick everyone. It’s not nice for the player, but I have to make these decisions. Marc seems happy to me, he has the potential but he can still improve, and he’s waiting for his chance. It’s an uncomfortable situation, but not a permanent one. I like to rotate my squad, so I am sure he will get chances this season.

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However, it may prove to be best for both Bartra and Barcelona to let him leave until the end of the season.

He would walk into the Sevilla side and, perhaps after a period of acclimatising to regular football, be one of the first names on Unai Emery's teamsheet.

Barcelona would have enough cover, with both Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen able to step in if something should happen to first-choice defenders Pique and Javier Mascherano.

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If Bartra wants to make it at Barcelona, he needs to prove he can handle the rigors of first-team football week in, week out. That will not happen at the Camp Nou, because Lucho is understandably loyal to the pair that helped him win five trophies in 2015.

In the latest of those, the FIFA Club World Cup, Bartra did not get to feature in a single minute, despite making the long-haul voyage to Japan.

Of course, he is learning and improving every day, as any player would who has to face Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in training. But the time has come for Bartra to play.

If Barcelona send him to Seville and he disappoints, then they know they can cut him loose. If he shines, then they have a new defender—and a potential replacement for Mascherano—and haven't taken any risks in the meantime.