Barcelona teenage prodigy faces uncertain future following Xavi U-turn

Mika Faye has been a revelation for Barcelona’s subsidiary team, Barça Atletic, since arriving at the club last summer.

The 19-year-old Senegalese international is yet to make his first-team debut for Barcelona but is rated very highly within the team and has been constantly called up to train with the seniors.

In fact, the centre-back has been part of the matchday squad in the past few games and it is believed that a first-team debut is not far away.

What’s more, reports in the recent past even suggested that Faye was one of the five ‘untouchables’ at the club and that he would be given a first-team number and contract next season.

Things to change for Faye after Xavi U-turn?

Now, though, SPORT reports that Barcelona find themselves in a ‘mess’ as far as Mika Faye’s future at the club is concerned.

The 19-year-old is seen as one of the biggest bets for the future by Barcelona director Deco. In fact, the former midfielder even met the youngster’s agents this month to discuss extending and improving his contract.

In fact, it was made clear to them that Faye would have a first-team number and would not be sold or loaned out despite the offers on the table.

But, now that Xavi will continue as manager, it seems that Inigo Martinez will not leave, so the left-sided centre-back position will be covered and as such, Faye will not receive meaningful minutes.

Will Faye stay or leave? (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Barça will have a clear overbooking of centre-backs heading into next season. There were doubts about Martinez’s continuity as his contract is registered for just one year.

But Xavi staying means that the Spanish defender will also continue as the manager wants him in the squad. It will now affect Faye’s chances of playing as well as getting a first-team number.

No shortage of interest

Faye’s development with the reserve team has been spectacular. So much so that, several teams from La Liga and outside are showing an interest in signing him.

Nice, Lens, Girona and several Premier League clubs are willing to pay a transfer fee for the Senegalese ace while Bayern Munich are also monitoring him.

Barça had stopped the possibility of any possibility of an exit, as Deco’s idea was to give him minutes and experience with the first team in the next project. But with the situation surrounding Martinez changing, that is no longer a guarantee.

Faye is clear that he wants to stay at Barça even though he has much higher financial offers. However, he intends to play in the first division and if he cannot play for Barça, he will have to leave on loan or transfer with an option to buy him back.