Who will be the next Puyol or Pique from La Masia?

The centre-back position continues to be an issue at Barcelona. Neither Vermaelen nor Mathieu have become quality alternatives to fill any vacancy left by Pique or Mascherano. While Bartra passes his medical with Borussia Dortmund, the Catalan club searches the market for another central defender.

Marquinhos is repeatedly being mentioned, just as Thiago Silva and Vertonghen were in the past, but the feeling is that snapping up a centre-back that offers full guarantees has become mission impossible in the last few years.

Having reached this point, Barça need to take advantage of this situation to bet big on the youth system. The examples of Puyol, Pique and, in a smaller measure, Bartra, show the way to go.

Who are the central defenders in the youth teams who have the best chance of making it to the top? How well are the centre-back pairings performing in the lower age groups?

This is the current situation at FC Barcelona, whose greatest hope is 'Chumi' of the Juvenile A team and Eric Garcia, of the Cadet B squad.

Barça B

The B team started the season with Rodrigo Tarin and Gerard Gumbau at the back. Tarin has responded well in his first season as an amateur player. The player from the city of Valencia is quick, strong and deals well with aerial crosses. Gumbau on the other hand is not an option for the future in defence, as Luis Enrique has preferred him in central midfield when he has been with the first team.

Juvenile A

The team managed by Gabri has constantly changed its central defence partnerships. Campeny, Eric Montes, Adria Vilanova, Juanma and Chumi have come and gone in this position, without a specific duo consolidating itself. 

The club has confidence in the physically strong Campeny, and also in Chumi. Juan Brandariz 'Chumi' is Galician and an under-17 Spanish international. he is younger than most in the Juvenile A squad and is expected to be a regular starter next season. His teammates liken him to Bartra, though he sees himself as playing like Raphael Varane, of Real Madrid. 

Juvenile B

Erick Ferigra and Oscar Mingueza are the usual tandem in this team. Ferigra was born in Ecuador but raised in Elche, and has impressive physical stature. He is quick, though struggles to bring the ball out from the back. Mingueza is more comfortable in this aspect and is very elegant in starting the build up.

Cadet A

Arnau Comas is the ball player in defence and Alejandro Marcos is good at anticipation and challenging strikers. They are very much like Pique and Mascherano in this sense.

Cadet B

The club is very optimistic about Eric Garcia in this age group. The captain is an under-16 Spanish international and forms a partnership with Josep Jaume in a team which Luis Enrique loves to watch. 

Eric excels in every aspect, he has great presence, is quick, and a ball player too. He has scored 10 goals this season, showing his power in the air. Luis Enrique has already publicly praised him though the club wishes to take their time with him.

Jaume is the ideal complementary defender for Eric and the duo have helped their team to 25 wins out of 26 league games last season.