Barcelona news: 'The Lamine Yamal of defenders' - Hansi Flick showers praise on La Masia phenom

Barcelona's renowned academy La Masia continues to bear fruit season after season, producing players who slot into the first-team rotation and spare the club considerable expenditure in the transfer market. In the near-ideal side now managed by Hansi Flick, roughly half the squad came through the academy — including Lamine Yamal, the most exciting young talent in world football right now.

For the German manager, Barcelona also have their own "Yamal of the defence" in Pau Cubarsi, who has been a first-choice centre-back at the club since early 2024, when he was just 17 years old.

Flick expressed his admiration for how Cubarsi defends and praised the teenager's qualities ahead of Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg against Newcastle at St James' Park.

"Watching Cubarsí defend... He took a throw-in like a corner. He's at the same level as Lamine, but in defence. He's 19 years old and can play at the highest level imaginable," Flick said.

Cubarsi is the undisputed first choice at the heart of Barcelona's defence, typically playing on the right side of the centre-back partnership — though he can also operate on the left — with Eric García, Gerard Martín or Ronald Araujo as potential partners.

"He still needs to improve — he is 19 — and when he has more experience behind him, he will be formidable. He can play at the highest level he can imagine," Flick added.

Barcelona: Does Hansi Flick go too far in comparing Pau Cubarsi to Lamine Yamal?

Cubarsi is a genuinely remarkable talent. Midway through the 2023-24 season, he was called upon to rescue then-manager Xavi amid a defensive injury crisis. Just a few weeks after his debut — in which he even registered an assist — the defender, still a minor at the time, had become the first-choice centre-back.

Even in what was ultimately a trophyless season, the youngster was the undisputed standout, delivering impressive performances in the Champions League knockout rounds and in Spanish derbies.

As a product of the Barcelona academy, technical quality on the ball was naturally expected — yet he surpassed even those expectations. His reading of the game and ability to anticipate play and avoid being dragged out of position also caught the eye. It was no surprise that he earned his first Spain call-up as early as March 2024.

"Cubarsi is the best defender with the ball we have. It is spectacular to watch him play, and he is only 17 years old," Xavi said after the defender had spent just one month in senior football.

"He is playing like a captain — it is remarkable," he added on another occasion.

Last season, the La Masia graduate truly cemented his status. Under Flick, he formed an outstanding centre-back partnership with Inigo Martínez and demonstrated the composure to quickly absorb the German's high defensive line.

That was also the season when the first major trophies arrived — La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana — and when the youngster scored his first senior goal. Having previously been praised by Xavi for his maturity, Flick followed suit. "He is 18 years old and plays like a veteran. What he does is incredible," the current Barcelona manager noted last year.

None of that, however, makes Cubarsi the "Yamal of the defence". The defender struggled following the departure of Inigo Martínez, whom Flick regarded as an essential component of his system due to his leadership in pushing the defensive line high, and Barcelona as a whole have been leaking goals — particularly in the Champions League, due in part to collective defensive frailties.

The centre-back position also demands a greater degree of physical development than an attacking role like Yamal's — and that is something the La Masia graduate will still need a few more years to achieve. As a result, he can be exposed in aerial duels and tends to struggle in direct battles with elite centre-forwards.

The trajectory, however, points firmly in one direction: Cubarsi will increasingly establish himself as one of the best in the world in his position — if he has not already done so. He is likely to be part of the Spanish squad for the World Cup as a squad player, but at Barcelona, who remain contenders for both domestic and European honours, he continues to be a cornerstone of the season.

This article was initially published on Trivela.