With Sergio Busquets departing Barcelona, there is a vacant slot at the base of the midfield that the club are intending to fill with the signing of Oriol Romeu.
However, it also opens up an avenue for youngsters from within the club to provide cover in the position and eventually grow into the role. And, Marc Casado is one such talented youth prospect hoping to capitalise on the opportunity.
So much so that, Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo is reporting that the 19-year-old starlet is ignoring offers and enquiries from various first and second-division clubs to continue at the club.
Casado has been at Barça since 2016, arriving from the CF Damm youth academy. Having risen through the youth ranks at the club, the 19-year-old did pre-season with the senior team last summer, even travelling to the US.
The teenage Spaniard then went on to make his senior debut for the Blaugrana, appearing in the UEFA Champions League encounter against Viktoria Plzen in November 2022. However, that remains his only appearance for Xavi’s team.
Casado remained in the first-team dynamics for the majority of the season though and is set to be part of the pre-season camp once again this summer.
A number of clubs in the Spanish first and second divisions have been asking about his situation and proposing offers for the 19-year-old. But he is clear that he wishes to succeed at Barcelona.
To that end, Casado sees Busquets’ departure as an opportunity for him to break into the first team in a bigger way and is fully focusing on having a strong pre-season to convince manager Xavi.
Casado’s ability to play in several other positions, including right-back, could also appeal to the manager. As such, the 19-year-old will not entertain any offers to leave Barcelona at this time and will hope to convince the manager during pre-season.
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