Barcelona to Target More Young English Talent After Marcus McGuane Signing

Barcelona are set to pursue more young English players after signing Marcus McGuane from Arsenal in January. 

The club's head of professional youth football, Jose Mari Bakero, told the Daily Mail's Adam Crafton:

"You may see more young English players leaving the country. There is so much talent there, some are seeing that there is little prospect of a big future in a first team.

"For Barcelona, it was not a big surprise England won the U17 World Cup. It is a reflection of the improvement in youth coaching. We have scouts working in England. Now we have a bank of information about kids that are 14, 15, 16 years old."

England's youth teams enjoyed a sensational year in 2017. The under-20s and under-17s won their respective World Cups, while the under-19s won the UEFA European Championship.

Success came for the youngsters in the Toulon Tournament, while the under-17s also finished as runners-up in their European Championship and the under-21s came third in theirs in recent times.

Barca signed McGuane, 19, from Arsenal in the winter, and he has since made four appearances for the B team. 

On Wednesday, he became the first Englishman to play for the senior side since Gary Lineker when he came off the bench in the Catalan Super Cup, which Barca won on penalties.

He was part of a triple substitution and came on alongside Abel Ruiz and Miranda for Lucas Digne, Aleix Vidal and Carles Alena. After the match, he expressed his delight:

Football.London's James Benge had noted prior to kick-off he has enjoyed a strong start to his career at the Camp Nou:

Bakero said while the Blaugrana hope "that every kid we bring to this club has the genuine potential to make it in our first team," reaching the senior side is something they "are never going to promise."

Nor will they offer enormous salaries, or stockpile players in a way that "damages football," as the club's goal is not to develop players with the aim of selling them on for profit.

"We will promise a progression in their performance," he added. "You have to work and if you work hard, you might have a shot at the first-team. We will help you—but it is up to you as a player, too."

Historically, there have been very few English players to venture abroad, with the high-profile exceptions of players such as Lineker, David Beckham and Michael Owen.

A number of English youngsters have headed overseas of late, though.

Everton's Ademola Lookman and West Ham United's Reece Oxford are on loan with RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach, respectively, while Liverpool's Ryan Kent—now on loan at Bristol City—spent the first half of the campaign at Freiburg.

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Jadon Sancho notably signed for Borussia Dortmund from Manchester City in the summer, and Chris Willock also left Arsenal for Benfica.

It's a positive sign that more English players are prepared to broaden their horizons elsewhere, and their exposure to new environments and footballing philosophies could benefit the England national team down the line.

Barcelona's La Masia academy could scarcely provide a better platform to improve the technical side of their game, too, so they'll make an appealing option for any youngster given the opportunity to go there.