Liverpool have taken Spanish defender Juanma on trial.
Liverpool coach Michael Beale has told The Mirror that former Barcelona youngster Juanma has joined the club on trial for the week – and even compared him to Pablo Zabaleta.
Whilst Liverpool have been strengthening their first-team squad with the likes of Loris Karius, Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum, it seems that the Reds are also looking at options for the future.
As reported by The Mirror, former Barcelona youngster Juanma – full name Juan Manuel Garcia – has joined the club on trial in a bid to win a full-time contract at Anfield.
Juanma, 19, is predominantly a left back, and had been coming up through the ranks at the Camp Nou before being released earlier this summer.
The Spanish teenager played for Liverpool’s Under-21 side against Rhyl this past weekend, and even notched an assist for Brooks Lennon in an 4-1 victory for the Reds.
That display has done Juanma’s chances of winning a permanent deal with the club no harm at all, and Liverpool coach Michael Beale has been discussing the situation.
As quoted by The Mirror, Beale admitted that Juanma has joined up with the Reds for the week, and will have a chance to impress alongside some of his former Spain team-mates.
Beale added that he can already see some talent in Juanma, and even compared him to Manchester City’s Pablo Zabaleta, a two-time Premier League title winner.
“Juanma is a boy who’s come in to spend the week with us with a view to maybe seeing more of him,” said Beale. “He’s only had a couple of days training with us, speaks very little English but you can see a very good player. He had a fantastic assist for Brooks Lennon.”
“He was at Barcelona so we’ll have a look and see how we go with him. He played with (fellow Academy players) Madger Gomes and Pedro Chirivella with Spain so we’re quite familiar with him. He’s very versatile and can play in different positions because technically he’s very good. I quite like him, he reminds me a little bit of someone like a Pablo Zabaleta-type player, a nice player,” he added.
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