Who is Noah Darvich, Barcelona’s latest teenage sensation?

16-year Noah Darvich has already made quite an impression on Barcelona and head coach Xavi Hernández. Just over two weeks after it was announced that he would be joining Barça Atlètic, the club’s reserve team, the teenager has already been called up to train with the first team.

Although Xavi still feels the midfielder isn’t quite ready to play for the senior side just yet, he has been impressed by the quality the German has shown and has very high hopes for him for the future.

Barcelona fight off Bayern to sign Euro under-17 star

Earlier this month, Darvich signed for the Catalans from SC Freiburg’s youth academy for a fee of around €3 million ($3.24 million) plus add-ons, with Barça fighting off competition from other big European clubs such as Bayern Munich. Earlier this summer, the teenager was the standout player in the UEFA European under-17 Championship, captaining Germany to victory, scoring two goals and providing four assists in five matches.

Spain’s Lamine Yamal, who has already played three times for Barcelona, was another of the tournament’s most impressive performers, and the two could link up together under Xavi before too long.

What kind of player is Noah Darvich?

Although the left-footed playmaker, who is also eligible to play for France and Iraq, has only been in Catalonia a little over two weeks, has already started two friendly matches for Barça Atlètic, who play in Primera Federación, the third tier of Spanish soccer. His debut came in a comfortable 3-0 win over fellow Catalans Lleida, in which he played in the middle of an attacking midfield three and created his team’s second goal with a fine through-ball.

He then played from the off again a few days later against Valencia Mestalla (Valencia’s B team). On this occasion, the German played on the right flank, which gave him more of opportunity to show off his considerable dribbling ability. Barça Atlètic have switched between 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 formations, with Darvich likely to play centrally in the former and have a freer role in the latter. Like the majority of his teammates, he played just a half in the win over Valencia Mestalla, with his league debut expected to come Logroñès on Sunday 27 August.

And if he impresses Xavi, perhaps he won’t have to wait too much longer to make his first appearance for the senior team either.