Why Barcelona cannot afford to let go of Carles Alena

According to Marca (h/t The Sun), Carles Alena could be shown the exit by Barcelona in January. Alena is among the four players namely Junior Firpo, Martin Brathwaite and Riqui Puig, who could all be shipped off in January as a part of Barcelona’s cost cutting measures.

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Alena, 22, is a product of the famed La Masia academy. He has been with the club since 2005 and promoted to Barcelona’s senior squad 2018. A talented midfielder, he featured in a few games last season before moving out on loan to Betis in January.

His rise from the academy level has been a rather swift one. He has also represented Spain at various youth levels and is one of the budding talents in Europe. Though he did not play enough for the Catalans, he was a part of the La Liga winning side in 2019.

So far, he has made 47 appearances for the Blaugrana, scoring thrice. He has fallen down the pecking order a bit over the last season and currently finds himself on the fringes of the starting XI. This season, he has made just 4 appearances.

Barcelona should re-think their decision to offload Alena

Over the last few seasons, there has been a drastic change in how Barcelona have approached transfers. The club have preferred to spend gargantuan amounts in the market rather than promote players from the academy. Sadly, that has backfired in an epic way, with the club yet to win the Champions League in 5 years. They even finished last season trophyless.

While there has been a huge drop in players being incorporated from the academy, Alena is one of the best players to emerge from there in a long time. The midfielder was touted to be the future of Barca’s midfield but it has been anything but that.

Nevertheless, Alena has impressed in the limited opportunities he has been given. Barcelona have made some questionable decisions in the transfer market over the last few seasons. Letting go of Alena could be another one in that list if it transpires.

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The youngster is genuinely talented and can provide a lot to the team if given a sustained run of games. It is understandable that the club has to cut costs but it shouldn’t come at the expense of a promising talent.