5 players that should be promoted to Barcelona's first team

No youth academy in the world has given as much as the famous La Masia for FC Barcelona and world football throughout its history.

"The player who has passed through La Masia has something different from the rest, it's a plus that only comes from having competed in a Barcelona shirt from the time you were a child," says Barca legend, Pep Guardiola, who was raised in this academy and went through the ranks of youth teams before being promoted to the first team.

The Catalan giants' school has raised players who later created an era that made millions of fans love their club: Guardiola, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, the legendary duo Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta and ~~doubtedly~~ the G.O.A.T - Lionel Messi.

Not too long ago, Barcelona's squad mostly consisted of players grown in La Masia. In November 2012, in a league match against Levante, there were 11 graduates on the pitch for 60 minutes. Three of them (Messi (2), Iniesta, Fabregas) scored and Barca won 4-0. This is a good example of how strong players La Masia has produced in this century. The Catalans had a top team without paying a single Euro for transfers.

Currently, only 5 of 24 Barca's first team members are homegrown.

Here is the list of five players in the reserve team, who deserve be promoted to the first team in upcoming months.

1 Carles Aleñá

Aleñá has been moving forward step by step over the past few years. He made his debut with Barca B in 2015 and an year later, he played for the team, coached by Luis Enrique. Few weeks ago, his promotion was almost certain, but bad luck... he got injured. The official diagnosis is Torn muscle bundle that will cause his absence for about four months. He's still lucky that he won't have to miss too many games, as the recovery process will be finished in September.

In this season, Aleñá appeared 38 times on the pitch with Barca B in Segunda Division. He managed to score 11 goals and make four assists. With the first team, he played three Spanish Cup games. He was on the bench in two league matches (in March and January) but the coach didn't use him. He also received 11 yellow cards throughout the season and had to miss two games because of that.

Carles plays in midfield, the position that really needs to be strengthened as Andres Iniesta has left the club and according to the press, some other midfielders are also set to leave. If there will not be a mega transfer, Aleñá is a good candidate of filling the space in the squad.

Below, you can watch a video about his notable moments of this season.

2. Oriol Busquets

Oriol made his debut with the first team against Murcia

Another midfielder. Busquets is not as experienced as Alena, but he can still compete for the place in the team. That isn't expected to happen this season, but why not next year? He's only 19 years old.

Aside from the last name, Oriol has many qualities common with one of Barca's leaders, Sergio. He plays in the same position as him and has a bright future, undoubtedly.

Oriol made 22 appearances in Segunda Division and one (his first ever in Copa Del Rey with Messi and co.) in the previous season. After that, in February, he received an injury that kept him from playing in the second half of the season. Barca fans can hope that he will be back to pitch and his best form as soon as possible.

Here's a video displaying his passing and defensive skills, proving that the Cules don't have to worry about finding the replacement for Sergio.

3. José Arnaiz

Unlike the players mentioned before, Arnaiz has not spent years of his childhood in La Masia and hasn't gone a long way to the B team. He joined Blaugrana from Valladollid in 2017, when he was already 22.

Jose can play as a right wing forward and a striker.

Having spent only one season in Barca B, Jose is already one of the most promising players in Segunda Division. He had his debut with Valverde's team in October and set an outstanding record in Copa del Rey: 4 matches, 3 shots and 3 goals. Plus one game in La Liga, but not very decisive performance there.

In the second tier of Spanish football league system, Arnaiz played 21 games, scored six and assisted four times. Everything was going well, but... Okay, not very difficult to guess. Muscle injury. Just like Oriol Busquets, he is absent since February and will be back next season. If he regains his form, he will have the chance to enjoy much more minutes with the first team than he used to do a few months ago.

Here is the video about his stats and career highlights.

4. Sergi Palencia

The captain himself. Not sure where his armband is, though.

If Barcelona needs an experienced player to strengthen the squad, Sergi Palencia is in the B team waiting. Although he's only 22 years old, Palencia is the true CAPtain, having made 115 appearances throughout the past few years.

He missed the first month of 2017/18 season due to malleolar injury, but then played 90 minutes in almost every match that was left, total of 31. He didn't score any goal and made three assists, also, received nine yellow cards and the first five led him to miss the last match of 2017.

Palencia is a right back. On this position, Ernesto Valverde can count on only one natural player, Nelson Semedo. In the last season, Valverde used Sergi Roberto as well, but he prefers playing as a midfielder. If Valverde finally decides to let him play in the midfield, Semedo will need to have a reservist, just like Jordi Alba has Lucas Digne. So, Palencia's promotion is very realistic. By the way, he has never played for the first team before.

5. Riqui Puig

If anything proves that a player has a bright future, it's the interest from big teams since the start of his career. Rumors never come for no reason and if we believe the press, Riqui Puig was wanted by number of clubs, such as Tottenham Hotspur. But the president Josep Bartomeu, did a good job renewing the contract and keeping the 18-year-old player in Catalonia.

Puig has impressed everyone with his performance with the U19 team that won UEFA Youth League. He took part in ten matches in his first international club tournament, scored three goals and made three assists.

Riqui was one of the few players to be invited to train with the first team and he was very delighted to see his idol at the training ground, as you can see on the photo.

Puig is a central midfielder. His main quality is the ability to help teammates with great passes.

This player has been the member of La Masia academy since 2013. It's decided that he will spend the next season in Barcelona B and if he keeps improving as he does at the moment, the time when we'll see him in the starting lineup of the first team is clearly not far away.

Edited by Moderator -PJ