Barcelona carefully drawing up a roadmap for 18-year-old La Masia prodigy's development
According to a recent report from SPORT, it has come to light that Barcelona are paying special attention to the development of young forward Ibrahim Diarra, who joined the club in November 2024.
After spending some time adapting to his new surroundings, the promising talent has started to show good signs of settling in, which has encouraged the club to build a clear roadmap for his progress.
Advertisement
Diarra, who came through the ranks of Africa Foot Academy in Mali, is set to be part of Hansi Flick's first pre-season training sessions.
As per the plan, the 18-year-old will work directly under the German coach in the early weeks of preparation.
Depending on how he performs, Flick will then decide whether to include him in the Asian tour with the senior team or let him continue his development under Juliano Belletti in the youth setup.
Focused summer and interest from France
Barcelona's trust in Diarra goes beyond just training. The club has given him a detailed fitness plan for the summer to ensure he arrives at pre-season in top condition.
Advertisement
For now, the youngster has returned to Bamako, Mali, where he is working hard at his former club's facilities. From gym sessions to personal fitness work, the 18-year-old is staying committed to following his summer plan to the letter.
Despite his focus on Barcelona, there is interest from other clubs, especially in France, where some attractive offers have reportedly come in.
However, the final decision will depend on the player and his entourage. For now, Diarra's dedication is clear, as he is working hard and sticking to the schedule set by the club.
Barcelona's plan for Diarra shows how serious they are about nurturing young talent. With the right support and consistent effort, the forward could be one of the names to watch in the coming seasons.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Swansea goal is to achieve 'something special'
Richard Montague (left) spoke to various managerial candidates in the spring before Swansea handed a long-term deal to Alan Sheehan (right) [Getty Images] Richard Montague declines to set any specific targets heading into his first full season as Swansea City's director of football. But four months after arriving in Wales – and having got to know his new surroundings – Montague says the ultimate goal is to achieve "something special" in the Championship. Advertisement It is seven years since Swansea's seven-year spell as a Premier League club ended in relegation under Carlos Carvalhal. Two ownership groups, numerous key decision-makers and seven managers later, Swansea are hoping Alan Sheehan will be the man who can find a path back to the Premier League. In February, when Montague first got his feet under the table just 24 hours after Luke Williams had vacated his desk down the corridor, Swansea looked far likelier to drop into League One than climb to the top flight. But a fine finish to the season offered some hope for the next campaign – and convinced Montague, along with Swansea's owners, that caretaker boss Sheehan was worthy of a three-year contract. Advertisement Montague acknowledges that after seven defeats in nine league games, the initial focus when he arrived was to "make sure we stay in the league". "Thankfully the squad were able to pick up some form, with some really good leadership from Alan which drove them forwards," he adds. "We had a great finish and I think that gives us the opportunity to look forward and say OK, can we build on that now? "Can we use some of those templates and that formula, try to take them into next season, attack next season and give ourselves an opportunity to do something?" A familiar pattern - but can Sheehan's Swans buck the trend? Swansea lost only three of their final 13 games of last season [Huw Evans Agency] For a while under Williams, Swansea had looked capable – despite some deficiencies in their squad - of making a play-off push. Advertisement But top-six hopes disappeared during an alarming run of results and performances which cost Williams his job. After the unexpected slump came what seemed an unlikely upturn in fortunes, with Sheehan's rejuvenated side taking 24 points from the final 13 games of the season to secure an 11th-place finish. There were various encouraging signs, but then it should be noted Swansea have been here before in recent years. Williams' Swansea side had finished the 2023-24 campaign with something of a flourish to put to bed any relegation concerns, prompting some optimism about what the next campaign might bring. Advertisement Twelve months earlier, Russell Martin's team ended 2022-23 like a train after a mid-season slump which had seen some fans call for his head. Good finishes after difficult spells have been a pattern at Swansea. So what chance Sheehan's team can deliver on a more consistent basis in 2025-26? "I think you have to go into every season thinking how can we be the best possible version of what we can be?" Montague says. "We have had an awful lot of conversations about that, so we are in a good place to understand what we need to improve. "Obviously the league is no easier. Maybe it's even harder this year with the teams coming up and some of the teams coming down from the Premier League. Advertisement "But I would hope that we can have a stronger finish than last season and I would hope that year on year, we can demonstrate improvement that gives us an opportunity to be in with a puncher's chance of doing something special." Swansea look to have pulled off something of a coup by signing Ipswich Town's out-of-contract defender Cameron Burgess [Getty Images] Swansea's springtime surge under Sheehan meant they finished three places higher in the table than they had in 2024. In 2023 they ended up 10th, while in 2022 they were 15th. Not since Steve Cooper's two campaigns at the helm, 2019-20 and 2020-21, have Swansea made a genuine push for a Premier League return. With many bigger budgets elsewhere in the second tier, Swansea will not be one of the fancied clubs heading into 2025-26. Advertisement Last season's league position was a laudable effort and any improvement on that next May will mean Sheehan has had a good first full year at the helm. As ever, transfer work will be central to Swansea's prospects and, so far this summer, there have been promising signs. After various struggles in recent windows, Swansea have secured deals for winger Zeidane Inoussa, defenders Cameron Burgess and Ricardo Santos and striker Bobby Wales, while Melker Widell will arrive for pre-season thanks to a deal agreed in January. There are still vacancies to fill after a number of departures, but Montague says Swansea's early transfer work has brought a "feeling of momentum". Advertisement "I have always felt that if you get the majority of what you want done by the start of pre-season, you then have that six-week period to bed in and build a unit together," he adds. "But that's also with the awareness that you get opportunities later on that might not have been available in June, so there's always that balance." 'Luka believes in this project, so you should too' Swansea announced in April that Luka Modric had acquired a minority stake in the club [Getty Images] Montague left Notts County, of League Two, to try his hand in the Championship with Swansea. The thinking was that he would be reunited with Williams, who he had worked with successfully at Meadow Lane. Advertisement As it turned out, Williams' exit meant Montague was handed the task of leading a managerial search from the moment he arrived. Ultimately, Swansea's upturn meant the search led back to Sheehan – and allowed Montague to switch his focus to player recruitment. He says that during the many transfer-related conversations which have taken place, it has been clear the Swansea name carries weight. "You speak to players and agents from all across Europe and they all know Swansea City," he says. "They all associate Swansea with being a place where you'd want to play football. The pull that Swansea still has is incredibly powerful." Advertisement The fact that Luka Modric is now associated with the club, having become a co-owner in April, has not done any harm either. "I think the Championship is so incredibly demanding - the financial realities are such that you need something a bit different," Montague says. "I think that comes down to how you want to play, how you want to recruit players and how you want to operate, but also how you want to run your business side and how you bring extra eyeballs on to your product. "Luka Modric's name resonates with people the world over. He is a superstar, so that's really powerful to be able to say 'look, Luka believes in this project, so you should as well'."
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Box-office bookends & daunting December - Buddies' standout games
As starts - and ends - to a season go, St Mirren are in for a stiff test. Stephen Robinson's side face last season's Scottish Premiership top three in the first four games of the new term, and the top two and Scottish Cup winners, in the final four. Advertisement After lifting the curtain on the campaign away to champions Celtic, the Buddies welcome Motherwell to Paisley on Saturday, 9 August. Russell Martin's Rangers come to town two weeks later, before St Mirren wrap up August in the capital against Hibernian. A jam-packed, six-game December sees festive trips to Aberdeen (6 December), Hearts (13 December) and Rangers (30 December). Fast forward to the end of the pre-split campaign and it's equally eye-opening. The Buddies wrap up the season where they started it at Celtic Park on Saturday, 11 April. The week before, the Dons are at the SMISA after Rangers visit two matchdays before. It's quite the start, middle and end for the Buddies... what do you make of it? Looking at the fixture list, where do you think St Mirren will be after 10 games? Tell us here.
Washington Post
20 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Olympic leader Bach got 10% raise in 2024 payment that trails far behind soccer's elected leaders
GENEVA — The International Olympic Committee paid its president Thomas Bach $350,000 in 2024, the Olympic body said Friday — a 10% raise for his final full year in office after a two-year freeze. The payment, or 'indemnity' in Olympic language, revealed in its annual report is small compared to soccer bodies that, like the IOC, are based in Switzerland and count annual revenue in billions. Bach on Monday will formally hand over to President-elect Kirsty Coventry , who will start an eight-year initial term as the Olympic body's first female leader and first from Africa. The IOC has classed the 71-year-old Bach as a volunteer on a full-time executive mission who 'should not have to finance activities related to his function from his personal savings.' Bach, who also gets living allowances, was paid from 12% to 15% what soccer gives its top elected officials. FIFA paid its president Gianni Infantino $5.2 million in taxable salary and bonus last year, plus other expenses. Infantino also is among the 109 IOC members and so can claim $7,000 each year for office costs and $450 daily allowance when on Olympic business. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin got almost $4.3 million in taxable income last year, including $300,000 from FIFA as one of its vice presidents. It is unclear if the 41-year-old Coventry will be a salaried president of the IOC instead of officially a volunteer. The IOC was asked for comment. The two-time Olympic champion in swimming left her job as sports minister of Zimbabwe after winning the seven-candidate IOC election in March. Bach's annual payment has been decided by the IOC's ethics commission on the stated principle 'the president should not financially benefit from his position.' The German lawyer held a series of business consultancies and board of director seats before being elected in 2013 to lead the IOC. The IOC paid Bach 225,000 euros ($259,000) in 2020. It rose to 275,000 euros ($317,000) in the year of his re-election, 2021, then was frozen for each of the next two years. International sports bodies have typically published details of leadership pay as part of governance reforms, particularly after corruption scandals in soccer. ___ AP Olympics:
