Marca: Barcelona has high hopes for Badji, he has conquered Flick and won the locker room recognition

This summer, Barcelona signed young player Badeji, a deal that club director Deco insisted on completing. "Marca" talks about the young player's growth.

The 19-year-old Swedish young genius Badge may be relatively unfamiliar to most fans, but Barcelona has high expectations for him. After just a few training sessions, he conquered head coach Flick and won recognition from the locker room. His joining was the result of the personal push by sports director Deko, who spent more than a year focusing on the young Kuwait-born player. Badge officially registered in La Liga this Saturday and will be called up against Valencia.

Badji is one of Barcelona's only three new players this summer, with the other two being Joan Garcia and Rashford. His joining was surprising because he was a relatively infamous player and was in the same position as Yamal. However, Deco firmly believes that signing him is the right choice. Despite his severe cruciate ligament torn injury in April 2024, Deco has been closely watching his recovery and eventually signed him from Copenhagen this summer for a transfer fee of 2 million euros.

As a Swedish U21 international, Badji was only 16 years old when he first played for Copenhagen in the 2021-2022 season. During his time in the Danish team, he participated in 84 games and performed brilliantly, attracting the attention of many scouts. Deco recorded his speed, dribbling, one-on-one breakthroughs, strong shooting, and excellent vision and decision-making skills in his notebook. In addition, Badeji has strong ambitions and confidence, making it clear that he hopes to succeed in Barcelona. He was not afraid of competition and even said before he officially registered for La Liga: "I will not join Barcelona to join the youth team."

Badj has integrated well into the Barcelona locker room. He not only established good relationships with young players, but also connected with some veterans such as Conde and Rashford. In the game against Valencia next Sunday, he will wear the No. 28 jersey to compete for Barcelona. Before that, fans can appreciate his talent through his performance at the Swedish U21 national team. In the match against Armenia, he contributed an assist and scored a wonderful spoon penalty.