Arsenal are looking to rival Manchester City’s interest in Spanish wonder, Robert Navarro. The 15-year-old is a product of the Barcelona La Masia academy and has caught the attention of the Premier League champions. It has been reported that the midfielder is eligible to get transferred now that he has turned 16.
Navarro, also called Robertinho plays for the Cadete A team and is not Portuguese or Brazilian. He is a Tajonar native hailing from Barcelona itself. His first choice sport was tennis as inspired by his father but was later shifted towards football. Navarro’s father was not too happy with the decision but his son felt more inclined towards controlling the ball with his feet rather than a racket.
The 15-year-old was taken to Osasuna for a trial after being noticed by a teacher from his school. The scouts were immediately impressed and signed up Navarro to the youth academy. He progressed fast through the ranks and was even called up to teams way ahead of his age group, eventually earning him a spot in Barca’s Alevin A team.
The teenager initially struggled to adjust to life at Catalonia based club being forced to reside with his grandparents and feeling homesick majority of the time. But he did manage to upturn those obstacles and find his way through the 5 years of footballing education at the La Masia academy.
However, the transfer to Arsenal does not necessarily guarantee that ambition altogether. It would be ideal for Robertinho to keep playing within the system he has developed in for so many years which also happens to be one of the best in Europe.
We have seen a spree of young talents come out of the Barcelona youth ranks but only the rare few get to feature for the senior squad. Others are banished to loan-spells or being transferred off in search of greener pastures.
The Catalan giants have just signed highly-rated youngsters like Yerry Mina, Arthur Melo and Vitinho into the club and are preparing for more arrivals in the next transfer window.
In the midst of all the noise surrounding the La Liga leaders, if there is one thing Robertinho should aim for is to finish his youth career with the side and look for early first-team opportunities afterwards.
It is understandably tough to get even a sliver of game time with the senior team but one can still hope. Otherwise, Navarro can follow into Hector Bellerin’s shoes and board the flight to the Emirates.
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Maybe he too can break into the Gunner squad like the 22-year-old right-back.
