Barcelona’s famed La Masia has not been producing talent like it used to.
However, there are still players from La Masia who have made it to the big stage.
One among those recently is Nicolás González — also simply known as Nico.
The 21-year-old, having played for Barcelona a decent number of times last season, signed for Valencia on a season-long loan in the summer of 2022 and has caught the eye of a few whenever he has been on the pitch.
The below visualisation shows where Nico ranks for some of the attacking and defensive metrics when compared with the other defensive midfielders in the league.
Having started 15 games this season for Valencia, Nico has played in different positions in midfield.
He has played as a box-to-box in a two-man midfield, sometimes in a 5-4-1 and sometimes even as a lone defensive midfielder — it is this versatility that makes Nico stand out from the other midfielders of his age.
Nico is not someone who finds the back of the net quite often, but he is an excellent dribbler and creates chances for his teammates through his efficient dribbling, ranking 85th percentile for dribbles per 90 minutes.
On the ball, he plays a key role in the second phase of progression and ranks high for attempting progressive passes in a game.
He is also quite often found closer to the opposition penalty area than others who play a similar role to his.
Defensively, his positioning and 1v1 defending can be improved.
Nico has already caught the eye of La Liga fans around the world, given that he played for Barcelona somewhat regularly last year.
But this loan move to Valencia should serve as the launch pad for him to move away from Barcelona and start playing regularly.
Still, for now, he is responsible for helping his national team in U21 Euros.
He is definitely one to watch out for in that Spanish U21 team.
