Having made a sensational start to the season in La Liga with five wins in as many games, FC Barcelona will aim to carry that momentum forward in the UEFA Champions League when they face AS Monaco on Thursday.
Set to play their opening game of the newly-introduced ‘League Phase’ away at the Principality Stadium, the Blaugrana will have to cope without several of his key players, especially in midfield.
After all, Frenkie de Jong and Gavi are still not ready while Marc Bernal, Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez are out injured, leaving Hansi Flick with only Pedri, Marc Casado, and Pablo Torre as options.
Two youth players set for first Champions League call-up?
In order to make up for the absences, Flick could hand a surprise call-up to two of Barcelona’s most exciting young talents in La Masia – Toni Fernandez and Guille Fernandez, reports SPORT.
Toni Fernandez impressed in pre-season. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
Both Toni and Guille, who happen to be cousins, did pre-season under Flick and made a big impression, with the 59-year-old tactician now a big admirer of the pair.
The 16-year-old duo broke records for Barça Atletic earlier this month when Toni became the team’s youngest goalscorer in history and Guille the third-youngest goalscorer when they netted in the win against Ourense.
Both Toni and Guille trained with the senior team on Tuesday and are expected to be under Flick’s demand today as well, with there being a solid chance of them being handed their maiden UCL squad call-up.
It must be noted that Guille, an interior midfielder, who can play as a No. 10 as well, was part of the matchday squad against Girona this past weekend already.
Toni, the younger of the two cousins, can operate anywhere in the attacking third, and can be a handy backup option to have.
Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/barcelona-coach-could-hand-two-surprise-call-ups-for-ucl-opener-vs-as-monaco/
Author : Michel Durant
Publish date : 2024-09-18 09:46:06
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