Barcelona hand trials to two more teenage African pearls – report

FC Barcelona continue to intensify their network in African football as part of an initiative that was launched some time ago with the club undertaking a new policy for youth recruitment.

The basic idea from the Blaugrana is the detection of young talents through collaborations with football academies in African countries such as Ghana, Mali, Senegal, and Ivory Coast before offering them opportunities at the club.

The strategy has thus far led to the signings of players like Mikayil Faye and Mamadou Mbacke last year.

More recently, the Catalans brought in David Oduro and Abdul Aziz Issah, while there is a deal in place to rope in Ibrahim Diarra.

Trials for two more young talents

Now, SPORT reports that two new pearls from the African continent have just arrived for a trial with Barcelona’s youth teams.

They are Mouhamed Dabo and Elhadj Malick Cisse, both from Senegal and internationals with the Under-17 national team.

The arrival of these two talents comes through Barcelona’s collaboration agreement with the ‘Be Sport Academy’.

As per the report, the Senegalese duo is on a 15-day trial period and have already begun training with Pol Planas’ Juvenil B team since this Monday.

Dabo and Cisse are a defensive midfielder and an attacking midfielder, respectively, and are both 16 years old.

The Barcelona coaches will monitor both players and if they deem it appropriate, they could have more ‘stages’ in the future. It is worth noting that they cannot officially sign for Barcelona until they are 18.