Barcelona youngster ‘to be part of first-team squad’ this season | OneFootball

The coaching staff at La Liga giants Barcelona are ready to afford a first-team berth to a breakthrough member of the club’s defensive ranks this coming season.

That’s according to Diario Sport, who highlight Álvaro Cortés as the player in question.

Youngster Cortés, for his part, is a 21-year-old defender, who chiefly takes to the pitch in a central role. The Spaniard has been plying his trade on the books of Barcelona for the last five years, working his way through the ranks at La Masia.

Recent seasons have seen Cortés emerge as something of a leader at reserve-team level, culminating in the stopper being handed the captain’s armband with Barca Atlètic.

Hansi Flick and his staff, in turn, afforded the starlet a place in the first-team setup for pre-season training at the Ciutat Esportiva last month. And if the latest word stemming from Catalunya is anything to go by, then Cortés appears to have taken full advantage of this opportunity.

As per a report from journalist Sergi Capdevila of Sport:

‘Flick and Barça, delighted with Álvaro Cortés. The centre-back has blocked all offers (including those from the Bundesliga and Serie A), and the idea at the club, a priori, is for him to be part of the first-team squad.’

Conor Laird – GSFN