Barcelona are reportedly lining up swoops for promising youngsters Ferran Jutgla and Sergio Carreira as they look to continue bolstering their youth and reserve ranks.
According to a report from Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are intent on strengthening their ‘B’ team roster ahead of the next season and have identified several transfer targets for the summer, with Espanyol’s Ferran Jutgla and Sergio Carreira of Celta Vigo popping up on their radars.
With Joan Laporta back at the helm as president of Barcelona, youth recruitment has seemingly taken centre stage yet again, with the Catalan giants looking to strengthen their academy ranks as well as the B team squad ahead of the next season, while also looking to bolster their options at the first-team level.
And, the move makes a lot of sense given Barcelona’s rich history of seeing players come through the youth ranks, which had somewhat faded in recent seasons. But the rise of Ansu Fati, Oscar Mingueza, Ilaix Moriba and Pedri should give the Blaugrana plenty of encouragement to revert to their past ways and look to bring through youngsters from within the club.
To that end, Barcelona are already closing in on re-signing former academy ace Kays Ruiz-Atil from PSG on a free transfer while another former La Masia trainee, Adrian Bernabe, is being lined up for a return from Manchester City, also on a free transfer. Now, as per the report, the Cules have set their sights on Ferran Jutgla and Sergio Carreira.
Jutgla is a right-winger who came through the youth ranks at Barcelona’s local rivals Espanyol and has grown into a regular for their B team after a loan spell at Sant Andreu. In 28 appearances across all competitions this term, the 22-year-old has produced a tally of five goals and two assists, giving an indication of his promise. With his deal expiring at the end of the season, the Blaugrana are eyeing a Bosman move.
As for Carreira, he is a right-back who plays for the Celta Vigo B side having come through the academy at the Galician outfit. The 20-year-old has had a taste of first-team football as well, having made his debut in 2019, while he featured five times in the ongoing campaign for the senior side, scoring and setting up a goal.
Like Jutgla, Carreira, too, will be out of contract with Celta Vigo at the end of the season and will be available on a free transfer, with Barcelona waiting in the wings to pounce. Apart from these names mentioned, the Cules have also set their sights of Granada playmaker Antonio Aranda as well ahead of the summer transfer window.
It looks like there will be plenty of movement at Barcelona this summer with respect to their B team. And, it will be interesting to see if they are able to land all their transfer targets before the upcoming campaign kicks off.
