Barcelona academy defender sends a strong message to Flick amid Araujo’s uncertain future | OneFootball

Barcelona have enjoyed surplus resources at centre-back for a long time now, and it was always clear that the club would sacrifice at least one of the players in the department for the greater good.

Yet, at no point in time did that name appear to be Ronald Araujo and having the Uruguayan so close to a departure is still strange.

Having lost out on his regular starting spot in Catalonia, Araujo is seriously contemplating a departure. While Hansi Flick would indeed prefer having the centre-back at his disposal, he still has a plethora of options to pick from, even from the academy.

A statement performance

Pau Cubarsi’s maturity and quality at the tender age of 17 is shocking and the youngster has gone on to establish himself as a regular starter under Flick.

SPORT now brings to light that Cubarsi’s former teammate at Barça Atletic, Andres Cuenca, is also taking serious steps towards the first team and is pushing for more chances under the German manager.

Andres Cuenca (R) has been impressive for Barça Atletic. (Photo by Vasile Mihai-Antonio/Getty Images for DFB)

Earlier this week, Cuenca started the subsidiary team’s clash against Cultural Leonesa in what was a monumentally difficult battle.

Through the game, however, he led from the front and showed exceptional defensive resilience to keep his side in the game.

The youngster excels with his ball distribution and continues to show real class with his passing range without compromising on defensive quality one bit. His slow but sure growth makes a strong case for a chance in the first team.

Flick has already called up the 17-year-old on seven occasions and even gave him a debut in the UEFA Champions League.

Should Araujo leave in January, Cuenca’s chances of a break in the first team will rise and he will enjoy more prominence. Needless to say, it will still not be easy given that Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen will be ahead of him on the pecking order.