Barcelona to call up 19-year-old starlet as third goalkeeper for La Liga opener vs Elche

Barcelona to call up 19-year-old starlet as third goalkeeper for La Liga opener vs Elche Barcelona are gearing up for the new season, with the Catalans slated to take on Elche CF in their opening match tomorrow. Heading into this game, there were question marks over who will serve as the team’s third-choice goalkeeper behind Joan Garcia and Wojciech Szczesny. That question has now been answered, as revealed by Barça’s training preparations in the lead up to the contest. Eder Aller to serve as third-goalkeeper According to Mundo Deportivo , Eder Aller is going to serve as Barcelona’s third-choice goalkeeper for their league opener vs Elche CF. Eder Aller will be Barcelona’s third-goalkeeper this weekend. (Photo courtesy: X/FCBMasia) The 19-year-old was seen training with the Barcelona first-team ahead of the game, confirming that he will get the nod ahead of Iker Rodriguez for the role. The vacancy of the third-choice ‘keeper was always a big question at Barcelona all summer, but the picture became a lot clearer after Aron Yaakobishvili joined Almeria on a loan deal . Therefore, the fight for the third-choice ‘keeper position is now between Eder Aller and Iker Rodriguez. Barcelona’s plan to balance the role The report adds that Barcelona are not looking to play any favourites in the right to become desired alternative for Garcia and Szczesny this season. Iker Rodriguez to play for Barça Atletic on Sunday. (Picture credit: Instagram/@ikerrodriguez.01) That effectively means the Catalans are planning to alternate this position between the two goalkeepers. So while Aller will be serving as the role this weekend, Iker will feature for Barcelona’s reserve team for the Sunday friendly against Vilanova. Barcelona want both these ‘keepers to fill in the roles periodically so that both of them are able to feature regularly for the reserve team as well and thus gain playing experience, albeit at a lower level. As far as the Elche game is concerned, Garcia and Szczesny are both fully fit, with the former set to start in between the sticks after a fantastic debut campaign in Catalonia last season. Barcelona will hope Garcia can continue his momentum, even though the former Espanyol star did not receive a single minute of action during Spain’s World Cup winning campaign.