English Premier League side Liverpool have signed yet another player as they confirm the addition of 19-year old former Barcelona starlet, Juanma.
The player had been training at the club, and the Never Walk Alone crooners decided to reward him with a professional deal. Liverpool deem the player fot enough to continue with them after he completed his trial with the club.
The Liverpool Echo report that the left back is a promising talent and would start with the development squad under the tutelage of coach Michael Beale. Juanma would undergo medicals at the club, after Liverpool successfully fended of interests from Spanish side Villarreal in a bid to keep him. Juanma is short for Juan Manuel Garcia. The young talented player came through the youth system at Camp Nou – La Masia, where he played as both a left back and a centre back during his time there.
The prolific youngster started from the underage teams in Spain, until he moved through the ranks to join Barcelona Youth B team, then the A team. Whilst in the team A, he played in the UEFA Youth League, playing in six games as the captain of the side. Liverpool’s Beale commented on the deal.
“Juanma is a boy who’s come in to spend the week with us with a view to maybe seeing more of him. He’s only had a couple of days training with us, speaks very little English but you can see a very good player. He was at Barcelona so we’ll have a look and see how we go with him. He played with Madger Gomes and Pedro Chirivella with Spain so we’re quite familiar with him,” the under-23 coach said.
Beale added that the player is versatile and can play a number of positions. He didn’t hide his affection for the player, added that the player reminded him of “Pablo Zabaleta.”