Report: Reason behind Xavi not calling up 17-year-old whizkid to Barcelona squad

In his tenure as manager of the Barcelona first team, Xavi Hernandez has never shied away from handing opportunities to young talents from the academy, irrespective of their age.

That quality has helped Barça unearth gems like Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubari, and Hector Fort, among others just in this season.

Now, it appears that Mika Faye is the next one to make a breakthrough, having now been included in the squad list for tonight’s match against Las Palmas.

Including Faye, there are seven youth players in the list for the game against the Canary Islanders, but there is no space for a certain Noah Darvich.

Why no Noah Darvich?

Noah Darvich is another player who Barcelona signed last summer, like Faye, and even though the German prodigy has been making an impression, he is yet to earn a call-up to the matchday squad by Xavi.

Explaining the reasoning behind Xavi not handing the 17-year-old attacking midfielder, SPORT reports that it has nothing to do with the player’s talents but rather his adaptation at the club.

Darvich has great natural talent and is already showing it. He has integrated very quickly and already speaks Spanish very well.

Noah Darvich is a special talent. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images for DFB)

But his most natural role on the pitch is that of an attacking midfielder, a position that is not possible with the 4-3-3 system that characterises Barcelona’s teams.

As such, Darvich has had to adapt more to the interior midfield position.

In fact, the German prospect has been a starter for Barça Atletic only for a few weeks, while, for example, Mika Faye has been a regular for Rafa Marquez since the start of the season.

Another aspect is that Darvich still has to develop more physically to be ready for the big stage.

Darvich’s talent is not going unnoticed by Xavi or his staff members, but everything will come at the right time.