6 Barcelona Youngsters Who Deserve to See Playing Time in 2016/17

There was a time when any Barcelona youngster who was deemed good enough to progress from La Masia and Barca B to play for the first team seemed touched by greatness, destined to succeed and almost certain to be a highly decorated international.

Those days are largely gone, however, tainted by a procession of the likes of Isaac Cuenca, Cristian Tello, Martin Montoya and Adama Traore; capable players for professional sides, sure, but not ever realistically close to the level of quality or consistency that a team fighting for honours on all fronts really requires.

Even so, a restructuring of La Masia has been undertaken, and there is hope that a new crop of players will provide a few gems, with the playing staff both locally sourced and signed in—legitimately, this time—from afar.

Barcelona will doubtless give some of them game time in pre-season, and their growth to date and a strong summer showing should see a few given competitive action once the 2016-17 season gets under way.

Munir

Lest we forget, one-cap Spanish international forward Munir El Haddadi is still just 20 years old, a very inexperienced player but one who has shown he has the ability to shine in future.

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He was called upon more often last season than Barca would have liked, and though he didn't shine in exemplary fashion often enough to remain involved with the team over the second half of the season, there are goals in his boots, and his movement across the forward line is impressive.

Munir certainly showed up in better fashion than Sandro Ramirez and should remain in the frame for game time next season.

It'll be harder to come by with greater competition in place, and a loan deal might eventually be the way forward for Munir to see more time on the pitch. But Luis Enrique showed faith in his young forward last term that isn't likely to have been eradicated completely.

Wilfrid Kaptoum

Cameroonian midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum made three appearances for Barca's first team last season—two in the Copa del Rey, scoring against Valencia to rescue a draw in the second, and one in the UEFA Champions League.

Not a bad start to life with the seniors.

Not as composed or relentlessly accurate in possession as other midfielders who have graduated through La Masia perhaps, 19-year-old Kaptoum nonetheless brings traits to the central battle that can be overlooked at times: a rangy stride that can exploit space after turnovers, a willing aerial presence despite his stature and a quick change of direction in a dribble that sees him move away from defenders.

Kaptoum likes to arrive late in attacking moves, providing a scoring threat from deep, and has been noted as having the potential to make it in the first team by several coaches: Tata Martino, Gerard Lopez and Luis Enrique, per Didac Peyret of Sport.

Sergi Samper

Where Kaptoum can dominate and be a star going forward from midfield, Sergi Samper has for a long time looked like being the commander-in-chief at the base of midfield.

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It's a surprise, in truth, that Samper hasn't yet managed more time on the pitch for Barcelona: just seven appearances last season, totalling just over 400 minutes, but just half an hour of that came in La Liga.

Of course, his route to the team is blocked by Sergio Busquets, but even when Barca had an injury crisis in midfield last season, it was Gerard Gumbau, not Samper, who was called upon more by Luis Enrique.

Gumbau looks effective at times and clearly has quality, but 21-year-old Samper remains by far the more impressive when on the ball, and it's Samper we look to in having a bigger impact next term.

Carles Alena

One of the true "graduates" of the system, Carles Alena has been at the club since the age of eight and was named on the bench once for the first team last season, despite not even being a regular in the B team as yet, still playing most of the time with the Juvenil A side.

A midfielder who combines great technique with the mobility to play either deeper or as an offensive schemer, Alena was a regular scorer in the UEFA Youth League last term, scoring five in the group stage and once again in the round of 16 before Barcelona's quarter-final exit.

One of those goals, against Roma, drew notice from beyond the world of youth football after he dribbled past four defenders and beat the 'keeper from range.

At just 18 years old, it's likely to be a while before Alena is involved with any regularity, but a debut isn't out of the question, especially if he's called upon to feature in pre-season.

Lee Seung-Woo

Quite aside from anything else, Lee Seung-Woo perhaps deserves some recognition at Barcelona next season for his loyalty and patience.

Close to three years without playing, as a result of the investigation (and subsequent transfer ban and fine) into Barcelona's practice of signing youths from abroad, meant Lee Seung-Woo could only play in non-competitive fixtures and only made his Barca B debut in January.

He remains a hugely rated prospect nonetheless, picked out as one of the best young players in Asia by Park Ji-Sung, per FourFourTwo.

After breaking goalscoring records for the youth teams at the club set by none other than Lionel Messi, it's safe to say there will be a certain amount of expectation on the 18-year-old whenever he steps up from the B team to the seniors.

Alen Halilovic

A final name to consider is one who might not even be at Barcelona once the season kicks off: Croatian international Alen Halilovic, who starred on loan at Sporting Gijon last season but not to the extent that he looks ready to take the place of compatriot Ivan Rakitic.

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If he hangs around, Halilovic will certainly see some game time as he battles against the likes of Rafinha, Arda Turan or Sergi Roberto to play an attacking-midfield role, but it's more probable that the club and player will both want to ensure there is more time on the pitch than Luis Enrique can guarantee him.

That will likely mean a move, either loan or permanent with a buy-back clause, as there's little doubt Halilovic has the technical talent to be a player on the level of Barcelona's team. Finding the consistency in his game, as with all young players, is the main issue at this stage.

If he stays at Barca, he's probably the most capable name on the list to look at featuring near 1,000 minutes next season, but it's a huge ask, and he could double that with a move elsewhere.

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