According to various media reports, the 16-year-old German wonderkid Noah Darvich is about to sign with the reputed club FC Barcelona. The offensive midfielder, who is already well-known in scouting circles, has quite the reputation, so it will be interesting to watch how he develops in Catalonia. However, it emerged that English football club Arsenal kept a close eye on Darvich.
Noah Darvich caught the eyes of German football association rapidly:
In a little hamlet near Freiburg, Darvich was born a few months after Germany held the 2006 World Cup. As a youngster, he joined the city's youth ranks and steadily improved his skills through his adolescence. He is qualified to play for Iraq because he is of Iraqi descent.
Darvich, who is from the same part of Germany's Black Forest as Jurgen Klopp, rapidly drew the notice of the German FA and has been called up to the national squad at the Under-16 and Under-17 levels. In a 4-0 triumph over Portugal, he gave Germany their first goal of the competition, and they didn't stop after that.
Although the teen prodigy missed Germany's first penalty in their shootout triumph over France in the final, they won all three of their matches during the group stage, scoring a total of 10 goals. Darvich was a nearly constant presence throughout their journey to winning the title.
The La Masia youngster Lamine Yamal, who shone with four goals for Spain, was another standout during the youth competition. It is certainly intriguing to think of the two of them joining forces at Barcelona. They are both recognised as two of the best players in Europe for their age group.
Darvich's style of play makes him a perfect fit for Barcelona:
Darvich, a left-footed attacker who can play a variety of advanced positions, has been classified as a hybrid attacker. The adolescent has the ability to play on his native left side, drift in from the right or be more of a playmaker in the middle of the field.
Any kind of significant first-team position with Xavi Hernandez's La Liga champions in the 2019 season seems improbable given his age and relative inexperience. He will probably sign with Rafa Marquez's Barca Atletic team, where he will likely spend the foreseeable future learning more about the possession-based system that Barcelona is renowned for employing and instilling in the young players in their academy.
