Official: Barcelona renew contract of versatile midfield prospect highly rated within La Masia | OneFootball

Barcelona continue to strengthen the future of their academy project, with the club now confirming another important renewal involving one of the brightest talents from La Masia.

After recently securing the futures of promising youngsters Elyott Daussy and Ahmed Abarkane, the Catalan giants have now reached an agreement with highly-rated midfielder Unai Balmon to continue his development at the club.

Barcelona officially confirmed the agreement through a statement announcing that the young midfielder will remain linked with the club during the next stage of his youth development.

“Player Unai Balmon has signed, in the presence of the director of Youth Football, José Ramón Alesanco, his continuation with the Club in his youth stage,” read the statement from the club.

Within La Masia, the current generation of players born in 2010 is being viewed as one of the strongest age groups in recent years. 

Because of that, the club’s priority has become protecting the long-term future of these talents before outside interest begins to grow.

Another step forward

In this context, Balmon has now become the latest youngster to commit his future to Barcelona as the club continues building around the academy’s next generation.

The midfielder is currently completing his second season at the club after arriving from local rivals Espanyol in the summer of 2024. 

Since then, he has gained attention within the academy setup due to his intelligence on the ball and technical quality in midfield.

Coaches inside the youth system value Balmon highly because of his vision, composure, and understanding of the game. 

The youngster is naturally right-footed but is considered versatile enough to operate comfortably on either side of midfield.

Whether playing as a deeper central midfielder or in a more advanced creative role, Balmon is known for helping maintain rhythm in possession while also contributing progressively in attack. 

The teenager has scored three goals in 21 official matches and has already received opportunities with Barcelona’s Juvenil B side despite still being part of the U-16 setup.