While the arrival of Vitor Roque has created a ton of excitement for Barcelona fans, it does create the question about the role of young striker Marc Guiu, who exploded onto the scene and already has a La Liga and Champions League goal for the first team despite very limited playing time.
But Guiu hasn’t been called up in recent games, and will not be part of the squad for Sunday’s Copa del Rey clash against Barbastro. The 18-year-old will instead play for the under-19s against Celta Vigo in the Youth Cup, and his participation in the Spanish Super Cup is still up in the air.
Guiu might not be involved with the first team for now, but Xavi Hernández spoke to the press on Saturday to preview the Barbastro clash and said he still has plenty of trust in the youngster.
“As for Guiu, I have a lot of faith in him. But we have decided with the sports area that he would go with the youth team, whcih has an important game in Celta. But I have a lot of faith in him. He will continue to have opportunities. I like him, he has many qualities. The signing of Roque has nothing to do with it. We have talked a lot about Marc. He has the level for the first team. There is great competition, but I like him. Courage, faith, attitude, he is a leader. I like having him in training and as part of the squad. He gives me security.”
Xavi has never been shy about giving youngsters chances, and Guiu does appear to be one of his favorite players from the youth teams. Vitor Roque will probably get some of the minutes that would normally go to Guiu, but there’s a lot of football still be played this season and everyone will get a chance to contribute.