Jordi Pesquer keeps racking up the minutes across Barcelona's sides. The 17-year-old full-back has already featured for the Youth A team, and today he joins the Barcelona Atlètic squad as they prepare for the opening round of the Spanish league.
Pol Planas's Youth A side opened their league campaign with a 6-0 thumping of Huesca, then turned their attention to Feyenoord and the start of their UEFA Youth League campaign.
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Pesquer sneaked into the first team's plans without ever making the initial list of call-ups. His daily graft and sharp displays in the friendlies convinced Hansi Flick to keep him around, even once the La Liga fixtures had kicked off.
The teenager earned a first-team call-up in the opening round against Elche, the game in which Flick left out Alejandro Baldé.
Baldé's return, the signing of João Cancelo and the emergence of Xavi Espart on the left all changed the picture. Pesquer moved on to train with the reserves, according to Catalan newspaper"Mundo Deportivo".
Barcelona's plan
Barcelona want the youngster playing regularly to keep his development on track. That's why they sent him out with the Youth A team yesterday, and why he lines up with Barcelona Atlètic today.
The academy graduate had already trained with the reserves under Juliano Belletti last Wednesday, when Barcelona Atlètic lost the Catalan Cup final 2-1 to Sabadell.
Pesquer made his reserve-team bow that day, coming off the bench in the second half to replace Josué Caicedo, the 18-year-old rated among the club's brightest international prospects. Belletti now has a fierce battle on his hands between Pesquer and Caicedo for the left-back slot.
Over at the Youth A team, the club kept the players who missed out on promotion to Barcelona Atlètic and brought in some of last season's Youth B squad.
Planas has yet to call upon the team's only signing, 16-year-old German centre-back Mikael Basa.
Feyenoord await next Wednesday in the opening UEFA Youth League fixture, and Barcelona will name the players eligible for the competition before the match.
That list should include one of the Youth team players who train within the reserve setup.
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