Teenage winger emerges as Barcelona’s surprise pre-season success

Teenage winger emerges as Barcelona’s surprise pre-season success Alex Gonzalez continued his impressive start to pre-season by starring in FC Barcelona’s 4-1 training match victory over CE Europa at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper , the club’s first friendly fixture of the summer. The 19-year-old winger made an immediate impact after coming on at half-time, providing an assist and scoring a goal to cap an outstanding second week under Hansi Flick. His performance further strengthened his growing reputation after earning a place in the first-team pre-season squad, with Flick & co. impressed by the youngster, reports SPORT . Reward for a rapid rise Flick included Gonzalez in first-team training after the winger enjoyed an excellent finish to the 2025-26 season with Barcelona’s Juvenil A side. Having joined from Damm, Gonzalez made his debut for Pol Planas’ team at the beginning of April and established himself as a regular starter within weeks. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Álex González Yanes (@alexxgonzalezz07) His rapid development earned him an opportunity with the senior squad, and he has shown every intention of making the most of it. Immediate impact vs Europa Gonzalez made his mark shortly after entering the match at half-time. In the 48th minute, he burst down the left wing before setting up Ebrima Tunkara for Barcelona’s third goal. Ten minutes later, he got on the scoresheet himself, finishing confidently from close range after an excellent cross from Toni Fernandez on the opposite flank. Although the result was secondary in what was officially a training match, the game gave Flick another opportunity to assess several of the club’s brightest academy prospects alongside established first-team players. A promising future Gonzalez recently signed a contract covering the remainder of his youth eligibility as well as two additional seasons linked to Barça Atletic, where he is expected to play a prominent role. Despite that, the first-team coaching staff decided to include him from the very beginning of pre-season preparations. Hansi Flick impressed by Alex Gonzalez. (Photo courtesy: X/@FCBarcelona) The versatile attacker is capable of playing on either wing and built a reputation in the Division de Honor as one of the league’s leading goalscorers. His pace, dribbling ability and attacking threat have all stood out during his transition to senior football, a step he has handled with notable maturity. Next Stop: England Gonzalez has settled into the first-team environment with ease during the opening weeks of pre-season. He has received strong support from both Flick’s coaching staff and the senior players. Flick is expected to include all of the academy players who have trained with the first team over the past two weeks in Barcelona’s pre-season camp at St George’s Park. That means Gonzalez is in line to feature in England when Barcelona face Birmingham City on Friday 31 July. It would mark another significant milestone in the remarkably rapid rise of the former Damm winger.