Barcelona Could be included against Granada
Ernesto Valverde‘s departure may have caused sadness within parts of the senior squad at Barcelona, but there are those players who feel invigorated by the change, and this is the case for Riqui Puig, who is set to be involved in Quique Setien‘s first match against Granada.
At 20 years old, Puig has long been seen as one of the star players within the Blaugrana academy setup, yet his first-team minutes under Valverde were at best, fleeting.
That is expected to change following the arrival of the former Real Betis coach, and no more glaring evidence of such a change in focus could be made than the decision to withdraw Puig from selection with regards to Barcelona B‘s fixture on Wednesday afternoon.
Puig is very similar in style to Martin Odegaard, the undoubted breakthrough star of the LaLiga Santander season, yet it was even considered that he may leave the Camp Nou in the winter market.
Setien‘s style of football appears, at least at this point, to perfectly mesh with how Puig plays and there is significant hope that the arrival of the Spanish coach could see the 20-year-old promoted to the first team on a permanent basis.
Many fans see a lot of Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the young midfielder, and the fact that he has been coached throughout the youth setup at the club has left them eager to see him play.
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