17-year-old La Masia winger called up by Flick to train with the first-team
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Barcelona and Hansi Flick are already preparing for the first game after the international break which will be against Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
While several internationals are yet to return, the manager has already begun training with the available players and has also picked a few players from the academy to join the sessions.
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As relayed by Mundo Deportivo in a recent report, two new faces were seen training with the first-team today – Brian Farinas and Toni Fernandez – with a lot of emphasis on the media being given to the latter.
A possible Raphinha replacement?
Toni Fernandez is no stranger to the first-team dynamics in Barcelona and has even played for the first team under Hansi Flick.
Having already featured under the German tactician last season against Barbastro, he even played this season as a starter against Girona and has shown to have Flick’s trust.
A golden chance for Toni Fernandez. (Picture courtesy: FC Barcelona Official Website)
With Raphinha set to be out for a month at least, the Spanish outlet highlights that Fernandez may well be the manager’s idea to replace the Brazilian in his dynamics.
Indeed, the coach does prefer the likes of Marcus Rashford as a higher-placed presence on his pecking order. Given the hectic schedule, however, it is completely plausible that the La Masia youngster also sees a golden chance in the coming weeks.
The 17-year-old is a regular for Barça Atletic this season and already has eight goals and two assists to his name in just 21 league starts for the subsidiary team. Further, he averages 1.4 shots and one key pass per game.
Fitness has largely been the hurdle that has stopped him from more first-team prominence, and he will hope to stay fit to make the most of the chances that come his way in the coming weeks.