Pau Cubarsí

Pau Cubarsí is the most startling teenage centre-back to emerge from Barcelona in years — calm, positionally intelligent, and seemingly unbothered by occasion. He broke into Hansi Flick's Barcelona side as a genuine starter rather than a rotation option, displaying a reading of the game that makes his age feel almost irrelevant. At 19, he is already part of Spain's defensive plans, which says everything about the impression he has made. Left-footed and comfortable in a high defensive line, he is built for the kind of possession-based, press-resistant football Luis de la Fuente demands from his backline.