The season is done for Ángel Alarcón. The youngster suffered a muscle injury that will keep him out for 3-4 months as he will undergo a surgery. Nonetheless, we still can look into his profile, his time in La Masia and what we can expect in the future.
Description
Ángel Alarcón was born on the 15th of May, 2004 in Castelldefels, Spain. Ángel started playing football at a local club Vista Alegre, before making a move to Espanyol’s academy back in 2011. Considered a big talent in the academy, Barcelona did not wait long to incorporate him into the academy. And in 2018 he joined La Masia, playing with Cadet B (U15) side. Progressing through the youth ranks, Ángel became one of the most promising youngsters from a very talented 2004 generation of players.
In 2020 he was promoted straight to Juvenil A from Cadet A. Just like his teammates Gavi, Diego Almeida and Ilias Akhomach. In his first season for Juvenil A, he had 7 goals and 6 assists. Impressing for Juvenil A, he caught the attention of Barcelona B coach Garcia Pimienta. The coach called up the player regularly for the subsidiary. In the same 20/21 season, he made his debut for Barcelona B. He came on as a substitute in the 71st minute of the game against Espanyol B.
Eventually staying in the dynamics of the subsidiary making his first start just a few weeks later against Badalona. As he continued to perform, soon there were rumours that Barcelona wants to call up the 17-year-old winger for the pre-season with the first team. However, during the semi-final of the Copa Campeones game, he picked up an injury that kept him out for more than 14 months, missing the entire 21/22 season.
Back to action
After returning from his injury Ángel picked up where he left off, picking up 13 goals and 6 assists in the first half of the season for Juvenil A. Xavi became a big fan of the player and with the departure of Memphis Depay to Atletico Madrid, the youngster entered the first team dynamics. He made his first team debut in Copa Del Rey against Ceuta as he came on in the 80th minute of the game. With Xavi’s big interest in the player, Barcelona decided to approach Ángel quite early in order to negotiate his renewal with the club. It didn’t take long until the club and the player agreed on a renewal. And on the 27th of January, the club announced Ángel’s renewal until 2025 and that he will be promoted to Barça Atlètic next season.
He was also a regular with Spain’s youth national teams, starting with the U15 side, where he scored 4 goals in just 7 games. Just 5 months later after making his debut for Spain U15, he made the jump to the U16 side where he managed to score 5 goals in just 574 minutes. After a long break, due to his injury, he was not called up for either Spain U17/U18 side. However thanks to his amazing season he was deservedly called up for the Spain U19 side, where he already has 3 goals and 2 assists in just 336 minutes of playing time. Contributing to a goal every 67.2 minutes.
Playing style
Similar player: David Villa/Ferran Torres
Ángel is a right-footed forward that can play as a left-winger, striker and as right-winger. He’s a forward that heavily relies on movement to create chances or finish them. His main arsenal as a forward is his off-the-ball movement behind the defenders, letting him be in 1v1 situations very often. Using his acceleration, dribbling and control ability he beats defenders with ease. Ángel tends to carry the ball from the midfield forwards, especially when he plays as an inside winger.
Intelligent in his positioning and understanding of the game, he controls the game with the ball at his feet. Also being a great finisher inside the box or outside, he scores goals with both feet but still prefers using his stronger right foot. As a winger, he tends to cross, whenever he sees a teammate in the box. Having decent passing ability and vision helps him to create chances. His great work rate, agility, balance and movement is what makes Ángel a very interesting forward prospect.
Future at the club
Xavi looks to be a big fan of Ángel Alarcón, due to his profile. After signing his renewal Ángel is there to fight for his dream of playing first-team football with FC Barcelona. Next season he should be a regular with the subsidiary, but we could see him in the dynamics of the first team. However, he suffered a muscle injury that will require a surgery, which will see him out for 3-4 months meaning that he would miss the pre-season yet again. Hopefully, we will be able to see Ángel’s magic very soon, while also being patient with him as making the step from youth football to top-level flight is never easy.
Potential Rating: 9/10
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