Barcelona to bring in 20-year-old left-back next summer to compete with Balde
Barcelona are set for another year of relative austerity in 2024, excepting the arrival of 18-year-old Brazilian forward Vitor Roque, as they look to tackle their salary limit issues once again. Presiden Joan Laporta has promised that they will wipe out their €130m gap between their limit and current wage bill spend next year, but while restrictions remain, it keeps the door open for La Masia products to come into the first team.
One of the main candidates to do so is Alex Valle. The 19-year-old left-back impressed Xavi Hernandez in preseason, and after a six-month loan spell at Andorra last year, has joined Levante this season. Until a hamstring injury, he had been a regular starter for Javi Calleja, and has come back into the side after missing four games.
For the games he has been available for, Valle has missed just 37 minutes for Levante. MD say that loan manager Bojan Krkic has visited Valle in recent weeks to see how he was recovering from his injury in recent weeks, and generally adapting to life in Valencia. He was also seen visiting Ansu Fati at Brighton last month.
Xavi is supposedly following Valle’s progress closely, and with Marcos Alonso out of contract next summer, the club is planning for Valle to act as competition for Alejandro Balde on the left side.
Should Joao Cancelo end up displacing Balde at left-back permanently, as he did for their win over Porto to great effect, it will create something of a headache for Sporting Director Deco. It seemed as if Cancelo would solve their issues at right-back, but once again, in the big games, Xavi is using central defenders out wide rather than a full-back by trade.
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