Meet La Masia’s ‘mini Raphinha’ who recently renewed his Barcelona contract
· Yahoo Sports
Barcelona recently secured the future of highly-rated academy star Ruslan Mba.
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The announcement was made through the club’s official social media channels, with Barça moving to retain one of the most exciting members of the 2010 generation.
Considered a leading La Masia talent, Ruslan Mba has progressed through the academy ranks and is viewed as a player with enormous potential.
Who is Ruslan Mba?
The Ruslan Mba Barcelona project continues to gather momentum following the winger’s breakthrough campaign.
According to SPORT, most players from Barça’s Under-16 side are expected to make the jump to Juvenil B next season, and Ruslan will be among them after already gaining valuable experience at a higher level.
Within the academy, the Barcelona youth prospect has earned recognition for his explosive style of play, pace and attacking instincts.
Unlike many modern wide players who prefer to operate on the opposite flank to their stronger foot, Ruslan remains a traditional left winger.
Playing naturally on the left side allows him to provide width, attack open spaces and deliver crosses into dangerous areas.
Those qualities have made him one of the most distinctive attacking profiles currently emerging from La Masia.
Comparisons with Raphinha
Naturally, the Raphinha comparison has followed Ruslan Mba for some time, although it is more connected to his playing profile than direct stylistic similarities.
Ruslan possesses the pace, intensity and dynamism that have made the Brazilian such an important player under Hansi Flick.
His biggest strengths lie in stretching defences, making runs in behind and attacking spaces aggressively.
When operating with room ahead of him, the young Barcelona winger can be extremely difficult to contain.
Notably, for Spain’s youth teams, he often plays on the right flank, but as per the outlet, Barcelona see him as a natural left winger capable of maintaining width and creating imbalances.
Within the club, coaches believe the La Masia talent possesses the attributes needed to develop into an elite attacker in the future, and the coming years will prove whether this assessment is in fact correct.