Pablo Torre arrived at FC Barcelona in the summer on the back of a fine season with Racing Santander as he helped the minnows earn promotion to La Liga 2.
Barça had beaten arch-rivals Real Madrid to his signing, which only served to add to the excitement surrounding the 19-year-old. However, things have not exactly gone according to plans for the Spanish prodigy at Spotify Camp Nou.
Given the intense competition for places in the middle of the park in Xavi’s squad, Torre has seen minutes come at a premium this season. At the same time, he has hardly played for the Catalans’ subsidiary team, Barça Atletic.
Indeed, so far this term, Torre has just four appearances for Barcelona’s first team and one for the reserves. The midfielder was expected to feature regularly for Barça Atletic during the World Cup break, but an ankle injury put paid to those plans.
Given that he is at an age when game-time is of paramount importance, speculations have been rife that Torre could leave Barcelona on loan in January. Reports suggested that as many as three La Liga clubs had already tabled proposals to sign him up in the winter market.
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, who have obtained information from sources close to the player as well as the club, Torre has no plans to leave Barcelona in the mid-season trading period, while the Blaugrana are also not contemplating such an option.
The 19-year-old is closely being eased back into first-team training under Xavi following his ankle issue, which did not allow him to get valuable game-time with the Barça Atletic side during the World Cup break.
Despite the lack of minutes, though, Torre is clear that he wants to continue at Barcelona and as such is not interested in leaving on loan.
Considering the busy schedule ahead and the possible fatigue from the World Cup, Xavi will need to rely on his entire squad over the coming months. And this could help Torre gain more prominence in the second half of the campaign.