Recently, there has been talk that four of Barcelona’s youth players, Jeffren, Thiago, Jonathan Dos Santos and Gai Assulin have not resigned new deals with the club. Currently, all four players are still playing on their youth contracts that expire in June. This means that the players are free to negotiate with another club as stipulated by FIFA which allows players with expiring contracts to start talking to other teams in their last six months of their contract. Now the question remains what to do about Barcelona’s youth and their future towards the club’s future.

Jeffren is not exactly a youth player based on his age. Only 22 years old, he is the oldest of the four. He joined the club from CD Tenerife Juvenil A and starting playing for FC Barcelona Juvenil A in his mid teens. He then made the jump to FC Barcelona C and FC Barcelona B the next two years and was not promoted to the first team till this season. He had spent last season playing for Barça Atlètic before featuring in some games towards the end of the season. During the summer, Jeffren was thinking of going to other clubs on loan for more playing time, with Celtic being one of the clubs interested in him. However, Guardiola convinced him to stay with the club and not go out on. Thus far, he has featured in some league games, including one start against Getafe, but an injury in late October caused him to miss a few months of action before coming in as effective substitute against Estudiantes in the FIFA Club World Cup Final. Even Pep joked afterwards and told Jeffren that he was going to fine him for speeding based on his amazing speed on display in that game.

Nevertheless, Jeffren’s contract is going to expire at the end of the season and he is holding off signing a new deal until he sees how much time he gets on the field. According to Sport, Sevilla, Everton, Celtic and Blackburn Rovers are all interested in obtaining his services. Thiago, 18, and Jonathan, 19, have both seen time with the first team while playing for Barça Atlètic this season. However, Chelsea is renewing their interest in Thiago after he turned down their offer a few years ago and Tottenham is also interested in Jonathan Dos Santos. Hopefully the rumors that both Thiago and Jonathan will resign will be a reality thanks to Guardiola featuring them in games and having them train with the first team.  Another factor that seems to favor the chances that Thiago is staying is that his younger brother, Rafa, already signed a new deal to remain with the club.

Another player recently called up to train with the first team is Gai Assulin. He is also 18 and was part of the team that participated in the Wembley Cup during the summer preseason tour and also started in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey match against Cultural Leonesa. However, he has yet to play in the league and in the Champions League. Arsenal are very interested in the youth player who has been with the club since he was 12. However, the flashes of brilliance he has displayed as a winger have been hindered by his injuries over the last two seasons that have limited his appearances for Barça Atlètic under Luis Enrique. Apparently, Gai’s agent is supposed to meet with the club in the near future to resolve his future.

Now I am not saying all four should be signed or loaned or sold. I am more concerned about the dilemma facing this club regarding what to do about the future of Barcelona’s future? Should the club loan them out like they did with Víctor Sánchez and Botía? Sure they will get more minutes but will that help them when they return to the club after playing for another club and another system? Actually, I can’t recall many players that have actually returned to the club after being loaned out the last few years.

Another problem facing the club is how much should Barça Atlètic players be paid to keep them happy and not make them want to jump ship and go to England. It would be a mistake to pay them close to what the first team players are making just to keep them at the team. It would be an even bigger mistake to pay them as if they are first team players; just imagine how the first team players will feel and how it will sky rocket their new salary demands. Surely paying them as first team players would be a hindrance to the club’s budget.

Finally, the biggest problem is finding these players minutes with the first team. Unless they are can’t miss prospects like Iniesta and Messi, how will they ever get the playing time that would make them want to stay with the club? Usually, youth players feature in early round games of Copa Del Rey and Copa Catalunya along with games in the league where the season is practically over and Champions’ League group stages where the team has already clinched a spot to the elimination rounds. Now patience is indeed a virtue and Iniesta didn’t start playing 30 games in the league from the get go. However, with a big club such as Barcelona, sometimes they have to buy already established stars and with names like Cesc and David Silva rumored to be future players, one has to ask where and when these fine young players will get to play when Iniesta, Busquets, Messi and Xavi are nowhere near to calling it quits. They might be destined to wait a bit longer to get promoted.

Guess that’s the price you pay for having a great youth setup that is full of talent. Unfortunately, other clubs with great youth setups, such as Boca Juniors currently and Ajax in the past, took advantage of selling their young stars for a profit in order to survive. Regrettably, this club is not in the business of cashing in on their young players but a huge dilemma awaits the current and future president of the club regarding the club’s young products.