Arnau Casas scout report: Can the 17y/o talent be Barcelona’s next Pique?

Today, were continuing our LaMasia analysis series, this time starring another U19 star in making, Arnau Casas. Quality centre-backs are a commodity Barcelona are struggling to obtain in recent years so looking into the academy to unearth gems could be the sensible way forward.

This tactical analysis will serve as a scout report on Casas, outlining some of his greatest strengths but also some weaknesses as well. Could the La Liga giants uncover another incredible talent following the rise of Pedri, Ansu Fati and co?

Let’s find out.

Player overview

Casas is a 17-year-old centre-back currently plying his trade for Barcelona’s U19 squad. He is 1.91m tall and weighs 78kg. Even though he is a right-footed player, the youngster is very comfortable using both feet and can therefore be deployed on both sides of the central defence.

As is the case with most LaMasia graduates, Casas is extremely comfortable on the ball and can thread passes to progress play quite well. He is also good under pressure and while there is still room for improvement in his decision-making, the 17-year-old is already improving and showing great results.

Further down the line of this analysis, we’ll touch upon this aspect a bit more but Casas loves to switch play and utilise his great long-ball accuracy to advance the attack. Similarly, his good close control enables him to swap angles and reposition himself in a way that will benefit specific situations he finds himself in.

Defensively, he exhibits enough recovery pace should he be beaten but is a decent 1v1 defender who reads the game well. However, Casas is somewhat lacking in physical strength despite his height and can be a bit too eager to charge into challenges.

All of that and more will be touched upon in the following sections of our scout report.

Passing & technical ability

Perhaps the most important and yet the least surprising trait that best describes Casas’ ability in possession is his passing and technical quality. Just as is the case with most graduates coming out of the academy under the Blaugrana crest, the young defender excels at progressive passing and exits with the ball.

Below, we can see some of his recent pass maps with both Barcelona and Spain, which will help us understand his passing tendencies a bit more. Casas sees a lot of the ball in games, which is understandable given the teams he plays for. Just as other centre-backs in possession-based teams like Real Madrid or Manchester City, Casas is among the main recyclers for Barcelona.

So it doesn’t surprise to see him pass sideways a lot, which mostly happens when the opposition is blocking the forward channels quite well. But there are other aspects we can make note of here. Firstly, his tendency to break lines is clear as there are a lot of diagonal penetrative balls on the map too.

This ability is crucial for Barcelona’s tactics as it enables them progression from the first line and ensures the build-up from the back is possible in the first place. Secondly, Casas loves to deploy long balls, which is something we don’t often see as a common trait for Barcelona centre-backs, although it’s definitely a valuable one.

Bu