Koeman wants to see Miranda in action but Monchu can leave

Koeman wants to see Miranda in action but Monchu can leave

Juan Miranda tratará de convencer a Ronald Koeman
Juan Miranda tratará de convencer a Ronald Koeman | sport

The left-back will get a chance to impress the Dutch coach in preseason

New Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman continues to assess the players at his disposal as he makes plans for the new season. One of his taks is deciding which youngsters at the club could be involved this season. 

Of the six Barça B players from last season plus Oriol Busquets that started preseason, only three are guaranteed to have a future at the club in the short-term: Arnau Tenas, Ilaix Moriba and Konrad de la Fuente. They are all still training with the first team, as is defender Jorge Cuenca, whose future is not certain at this stage. 

That means Monchu, Akieme and Oriol Busquets have returned to the B team. The door is open for them to leave. Monchu's demotion is the most surprising because he was the top scorer for the reserves last season from midfield and debuted for the first team under Quique Setien. 

Busquets was on loan at Twente last season where Koeman could follow him closely, while Akieme suffers because Jordi Alba and Junior Firpo are already ahead of him -- and now he has competition from Juan Miranda, too. 

Opportunity for Miranda

Miranda will have a chance to train with the first team when he returns from Spain U21 duty. The full-back was on loan at Schalke 04 last season and wants to stay in Spain this year. Koeman wants to see him in action before making a decision on his future, with Almeria one of the teams keen on signing him. 

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