Nil Ruiz will be the latest addition to the Barcelona youth and reserves setup for the 2022/23 season, with the Blaugrana set to sign him this summer.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Barcelona will secure the services of Nil Ruiz in the summer transfer window. The 19-year-old prodigious goalkeeper is the latest youth prospect to confirm his move to the Catalan club following his exploits for CF Damm in the 2021/22 season.
Nil Ruiz is one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Europe, with the teenage wonderkid making waves in age-group football in Spain in the last few years. The Spaniard has spent most of his formative years at CF Damm and was a revelation in Group III of the División de Honor Juvenil de Fútbol this season.
The 19-year-old was the best goalkeeper in the division and broke a record this season after going 953 minutes without conceding a goal and ten consecutive games without letting in a strike. So it is hardly surprising that Ruiz has impressed scouts from some of the most high profile clubs in Europe, including Barcelona.
The Catalan giants have been active in the market to bolster their youth setup and the reserve team in the summer transfer window. To that end, several players are already set to join Barcelona, with Emre Demir and Pablo Torre standing out among the lot.
Barcelona’s philosophy surrounding youth players has changed for the better in the last couple of years, with their financial woes prompting them to promote the most promising youngsters to the first-team squad. Pedri, Gavi and Nico Gonzalez are some of the whizkids who have benefitted from such an outlook.
As a result, prodigious prospects are inclined to join Barcelona to seek a quick pathway to first-team football, and Nil Ruiz might not be any different. With Marc-Andre ter Stegen on the wrong side of 30, Ruiz might have the chance to establish a foothold in Barcelona’s first-team squad in a few years.
Recent reports have also claimed that ter Stegen could be on Barcelona’s transfer list, although Xavi Hernandez promptly ruled out an exit. Even so, Ruiz has a bright future ahead of him and will fancy his chances of making it big at Camp Nou. The 19-year-old prodigious goalkeeper might soon go head to head with another Spanish wonderkid, Ferran Quetglas, who will join Real Madrid this summer.
