Gambian youngster Alasana Manneh has joined Spanish third-tier side CE Sabadell on a season-long loan deal from La Liga giants, Barcelona.
The Gambia international impressed last season for coach Gabri García’s U19 side and had done well in preseason with the B team that prompted the club to promote him to the senior squad to train with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar.
But with opportunities to feature in coach Ernesto Valverde’s A team hard to come by, the 24-time La Liga champions decided to send him to Segunda División B club Sabadell in search of first-team football.
The 19-year-old has been training with the team since August 18 after Barca’s permission and he has now gone on to impress manager Toni Seligrat with the club offering him a one-year loan deal with an option to make the move permanent.
He was unveiled by the club with two other players on Wednesday afternoon at the 15,000-capacity Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta in Catalonia.
A statement on Sabadell’s website read: “Centre d’Esports Sabadell Futbol Club and Futbol Club Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Alasana Manneh until June 30, 2018. He will seek to add minutes and experience to the category trying to consolidate the project called Arlequinado.”
Alasana, dubbed Morro, joined Barcelona last summer after impressing at the Aspire Academy in Qatar, which he’d joined having previously played at the Aspire Football Dreams centre in Senegal.
