La Masia's last chance: Why Neymar's failed return could be good for Barca

The summer transfer window closed a week ago, and there was plenty of drama as usual. Eden Hazard finally made his way to Real Madrid to make his dream come true and Juventus Mattias De Ligt's heart. Man City finally landed a replacement for Fernandinho in Rodri after their failed pursuit of De Jong. Atletico Madrid, though, made headlines by paying the most for a player this summer, a mouth-watering $130 million for Joao Felix to make him the second most expensive teenager in the world.

But Atletico's fee could have been overtaken by a fellow La Liga rival, had a certain transfer gone through. Throughout the summer, Neymar was mooted to rejoin the club he had left to be at Paris Saint-Germain. Neymar wanted the move, so did Barcelona.

But PSG were not interested. The Brazilian also went on to rub salt onto the wounds of the PSG faithful when he said that one of his best moments of his career was the match against PSG, where Barca rallied to beat the Parisians in an epic quarter-final in 2017. Barca had to overturn a 4-0 away defeat and did so in spectacular fashion by winning the game 6-1, where the Brazilian scored twice.

Neymar reminding the PSG faithful of that defeat did not go down well with the fans nor with the board of the club. They told he could leave but only for the right price. In the end, the transfer did not materialize and it seems that Barca and Neymar will have to wait till next summer for a second chance.

Messi still essential

While all this drama was going on, Barca played three games without their talismanic captain and showed that they still need him. There were chants for Neymar's return after the defeat in their first game against Athletic Bilbao.

Barca showed improved form in the next matches though they could only win one and draw the other. And the improvement was not because of any superstar, even though new man Antoine Griezmann did play a pivotal role. The difference was two young players, namely, Carles Perez and Ansu Fati.

The latter's debut was special since he became the second youngest player to play in La Liga. He also showed remarkable calmness while on the ball, considering he just is 16 years of age. He could have made it more special when he went close to scoring.

16 year old Ansu Fati became the second youngest debutant in La Liga history

Ansu Fati though got his chance again in the next match and repaid Ernesto Valverde's faith with his side's equalizer. It was a headed goal with superb precision and it brought the young teenager to tears. Meanwhile, Perez too had shined in the senior team. He got his chance after Dembele's injury and honestly seems to be better fit the Barca system than the Frenchman.

That brings us to Barca's recent transfer record. Since bringing in Neymar from Santos in 2014, the Blaugrana has spent big on players. Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Nigel De Jong and Griezmann.

This spending has also meant the slow decline of La Masia. This period coincided with the departure of Pep Guardiola from Barca. When he left in 2012, La Masia was at its peak. Players from the academy were given a chance in the senior squad, and they went on to be part of the signature style of play that Barca has since become famous for.

But after Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets along with Messi, no player has truly made his mark in the first team squad. Only Sergi Roberto has managed to cling on to a first-team place, and that too because he was ready to play in any position that Barca needed him to.

With big money moves, the board also effectively ended the dreams of many youth players who had wanted to play in front of a packed Camp Nou. This has also led to many of them leaving the club, the latest being Xavi Simons, who was touted to be the next wunderkind from La Masia.

Carles Perez has shown excellent link-up play and is ready for the first team.

Academy back in focus

The last two matches though have put La Masia back on the spotlight. Ansu Fati's remarkable calmness on the ball and Perez's linking up with his team mates has shown that La Masia still has it to produce world class talent.

With Coutinho gone to Bayern and Dembele still unreliable, these two may get their chance to shine. While Ansu Fati is still young and will probably only get limited playing time, the same should not be applied to Perez.

The young Spaniard has shown enough to start every match, even if Dembele is fit. We also need to remember that it was Perez who played in a pin-point cross for Ansu Fati to head in his goal.

Things will surely change when Messi and Suarez are fit. Barca will probably go with those two and Grizmann up front. Let us hope for Barcelona's future that Valverde does not get bogged down by the botched Neymar transfer and remembers he has two very talented players in his B team ready to show their A game.