I was at Camp Nou last spring when Xavi Espart made his Barcelona debut against Sevilla, and the first thing I noticed was how calm he was.
The young defender wasn’t making fancy moves, or taking big risks to show off his skills. Instead, he was demonstrating that he understood the assignment of what was expected positionally of him in Hansi Flick’s system.
He isn’t the biggest, fastest, or most physical player. Still, the more you watch him, the more you see that he is very difficult to beat, and
that he rarely loses a ball. In other words, after spending ten plus years in the Barca academy (he arrived at La Masia in 2015), he is a player with very high footballing IQ.
I wouldn’t say that Jules Kounde should fear for his job, but the more the young Xavi plays, the more Flick is becoming convinced that he has a reliable player who can fill in when needed, and will be worth investing in for the future.
Xavi Espart is his own player. He isn’t going to dribble past opponents like Alejandro Balde, or perform the elaborate footwork of a João Cancelo.
If anything, I see some Eric García or Gerard Martín in him. These are the types of players that coaches instinctively trust. They’re always in the right place at the right time, and can be counted on to make the plays that keep the team running.
Against Nottingham Forrest and Udinese, Espart also showed he can play a killer line breaking pass. The question going forward will be how well he can link up with Lamine Yamal down the right side when he’s given the chance.
Barcelona have shown they are willing to spend money this summer to bring in the right players to fortify the team in key positions in order to win a very rare La Liga three-peat.
João Cancelo is on the way. Other than that, Flick is looking like he may have enough belief in the academy defenders to fill out the ranks. That’s even more interesting when you consider the departure of Ronald Araujo.
Alongside Espart, you can expect to see a lot of Álvaro Cortés this season. He’s another young player who looks mature and ready to play at the top level. We are also seeing a lot of Jordi Pesquer, a 17 year old left-back who Flick is tipping to provide competition to Balde and Cancelo.
As always, the kids are alright in Barcelona. That’s why no matter how bad things look financially at the club, La Masia is there to provide a lifeline.
At the moment, Xavi Espart is the next in line to take his chance, and live his Barcelona dream.
By the looks of it, he is Blaugrana through and through.
No need to look to the market when solutions are right there in front of your eyes.
