Barcelona never seems to run out of talented footballers. After Pedri and Gavi era, now Barca introduce Alejandro Balde at left back post.
Balde was played as a starter in the duel between Barca and Cadiz, week 5 of La Liga 2022/23, Saturday (10/9/2022). Blaugrana won by four goals without reply at the headquarters of Cadiz.
The 18-year-old defender has neither scored nor assisted, but it is clear that his contribution is significant. Balde shows the typical young talent of La Masia, there is no sense of nervousness, he tries to perform optimally.
Perfect opportunity
Balde's potential is still raw and still needs to be honed, but in the reflection of the match against Cadiz, he has shown enough positive signs for the left-back post.
Balde often helps the attack line by doing overlapping actions. His decision making is right, his timing is right, and he has the speed to go down immediately if the team loses the ball.
Balde's movements also seem to have been integrated with his comrades. He can make good combinations with the midfielders to open up space and pull the team's defense wide.
Indeed, there were some wrong decisions by Balde, but they were not to the point of tarnishing his contribution during his 78 minutes of playing on the pitch.
So the main player?
Seeing the great potential of Balde, it is not impossible that he will be plotted as a core player for Barca's left-back post this season. Competition in this position is quite tight.
There is still Jordi Alba, but it is suspected that Alba's career is over. He often makes mistakes, starts to lose pace, and lacks contribution.
Alba's decline was the reason Barca brought Marcos Alonso from Chelsea this summer. Alonso is still pretty good, but that doesn't mean he's got a core guarantee.
Now, with Balde's rapid development, it could be Balde who will play as Barcelona's core left-back.