Barcelona manager Hansi Flick calls on 16-year-old cousins to cover injury crisis in Champions League | OneFootball

Updated 15:20 18/09/2024

Barcelona have been leaning heavily on their La Masia youth academy over the last few years, and as their midfield enters into another injury crisis, Hansi Flick may be forced to dip into the youth sides again. The replacements are getting younger and younger.

Cousins Toni Fernandez and Guille Fernandez have been training with the first team this week, with Dani Olmo ruled out until mid-October and Fermin Lopez sustaining a second injury in training on Tuesday, with the same recovery period predicted. The pair of 16-year-olds have been included in the squad to face AS Monaco on Thursday night in Flick’s Champions League debut, say Sport.

Neither have played regular football even for Barca Atletic, in Toni’s case making his debut just 11 days ago for Albert Sanchez. He does have two goals in his 133 minutes of action, and is a versatile forward, capable of playing through the middle or more commonly out wide. Meanwhile Guille, the slightly more experienced of the pair, can play in midfield and would be a more natural alternative to Fermin or Olmo.

Both caught the eye during Barca Atletic’s 3-0 win over Ourense, with Toni Fernandez scoring an outrageous scissor-kick, in an early goal of the season contender. Even if they are included, it seems unlikely that they will feature, unless there are further injuries. Ferran Torres, Pau Victor, Pablo Torre and the returning Ansu Fati will all be hoping for minutes first. Youngsters Andres Cuenca and Sergi Dominguez have also been included in the squad.