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Topics: Barcelona, La Liga, Newcastle United, Champions League, Lamine Yamal
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Barcelona, La Liga, Newcastle United, Champions League, Lamine Yamal
A highly-rated attacking midfielder who is being tipped as Barcelona's best academy prospect since Lamine Yamal has travelled with the squad for their Champions League clash with Newcastle.
Since being brought to the club by former academy director Albert Puig in 2018, teenager Ebrima Tunkara has established himself as one of La Masia's brightest young talents.
In fact, Puig recently mentioned Yamal as he spoke about Tunkara's rise. “Lamine made you win the games on his own because he made it up himself. He was touched by the wand of geniuses,” he told SPORT, as per Barca Blaugranes.
“Ebrima is different, but having him on the pitch makes things a lot easier for others. He gave you a guarantee that he improved everything and always showed up in the important games."
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Puig added: “As a coach, with Ebrima you were calm. I’ll tell you a fact: with him, in 30 league games in benjamines and 30 with infantiles we didn’t lose a single game”.
Things are looking promising for Tunkara and, after making his Juvenil A debut, the 15-year-old has been included in Barcelona's Youth League squad for their clash against Newcastle.
As reported by SPORT, the promising attacking midfielder could feature for the club's youth team at Newcastle's training ground on Thursday afternoon.
Of course, it's common practice for Barca's first team and under-19 side to travel together on the same flight, with Tunkara being the youngest out of the 43 players who travelled to the North East.
Tunkara has also impressed Barcelona manager Hansi Flick, who is closely following the Spanish youth international, according to Carpetasfcb writer Javi Bisús
"Within the club, people are already talking about him as the greatest talent since Andres Iniesta's breakthrough," says Bisus.
"His coaches agree that he possesses a tactical maturity that is hard to find in players his age. In addition, his physique, above average, allows him to compete effectively against older and more experienced opponents."
"He has a privileged left foot, capable of creating chances with through passes, effective dribbles, and powerful shots on goal," he adds. "All of this makes him one of the most exciting prospects Barca has had in years."