Barcelona give teenage left-back Jordi Bescos a broader route through the club

Barcelona teenager Jordi Bescos is continuing to gain experience across the club’s teams, with the 17-year-old set to join the Barca Atletic squad after featuring for Juvenil A on Saturday.

Bescos is expected to be included in the reserve side’s squad for their opening Spanish league fixture today, having already begun to build a role within Hansi Flick’s first-team environment this season.

Juvenil A, coached by Pol Planas, opened their league campaign with a 6-0 victory over Huesca. The team have since turned their attention to their first UEFA Youth League match, against Feyenoord.

Bescos was not initially included in Barcelona’s first-team plans for the opening day of the campaign. However, his daily work at training and encouraging performances in friendly matches persuaded Flick to keep him involved with the senior group after the start of La Liga.

The teenager was subsequently called into the first-team squad for the opening game against Elche. On that occasion, Flick decided to withdraw Alejandro Balde from the matchday selection.

Balde’s return, Barcelona’s signing of Joao Cancelo and the emergence of Xavi Espart have since created greater competition for the club’s options on the left side. According to Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Bescos has therefore moved to training with Barca Atletic.

The decision is intended to give him regular competitive football while maintaining his progress through Barcelona’s development structure. He played for Juvenil A yesterday and is now expected to be available to Juliano Belletti’s reserve team.

Bescos had already trained with Barca Atletic last Wednesday, when the side lost 2-1 to Sabadell in the final of the Catalan Cup. He made his first appearance for the reserves during that match, coming on in the second half for 18-year-old Josue Caicedo.

Caicedo is regarded as one of Barcelona’s international prospects, and his presence means Belletti now has strong competition between the two players for the left-back position.

Barcelona’s approach reflects their intention to manage Bescos’ development across several levels rather than leave him without regular minutes. The club has also retained at Juvenil A the players who were not promoted to Barca Atletic, while adding several members of last season’s Juvenil B group.

Planas has not yet been able to call on the team’s only signing, 16-year-old German centre-back Mikael Baza.

Juvenil A will begin their UEFA Youth League campaign against Feyenoord next Wednesday. Barcelona are expected to announce their list of eligible players for the competition before the match, with at least one of the youngsters currently training within the reserve-team set-up likely to be included.

The pathway is intended to keep Bescos playing regularly while allowing him to remain close to the senior structure. His progress has already taken him from Juvenil A football into first-team training and now towards a more sustained role with Barca Atletic.