Hafiz Gariba is a new defender for Barcelona’s youth team
FC Barcelona have made a surprise move by securing the signing of promising young defender Hafiz Gariba.
The 18-year-old Ghanaian has signed a three-year contract, joining the Catalan giants with immediate effect.
According to Sport, Barcelona had been monitoring Gariba for some time but had to wait until he turned 18 to finalize the transfer.
The young defender, who honed his skills at the Marcet School in Barcelona, reportedly received offers from other top Spanish clubs, but his dream was always to play for Barcelona.
Gariba will initially be integrated into the club’s youth setup, joining the Juvenil B U-18 team at La Masia.
This will allow him to settle in and further develop his game before potentially progressing to the reserve team or even the senior squad in the future.
If he continues to develop as expected, Barcelona believes Gariba could earn a quick promotion to the Juvenil A team under Juliano Belletti.
From there, a place in Barcelona Atlètic, the club’s reserve team, could be within reach if he maintains strong progress.
Gariba’s physical strength is one of his standout attributes as a center-back, allowing him to dominate opposition attackers and neutralize threats effectively.
His signing is part of Barcelona’s growing strategy to identify and recruit promising young talents from Africa before they gain widespread recognition and become more expensive to acquire.
He will join fellow Ghanaian prospects David Oduro and Aziz Issah, who signed for Barcelona Atlètic in September 2024.
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