Oriyan Goren Poised for First-Team Barcelona Preseason Call-Up

Oriyan Goren, a 17-year-old Israeli midfielder, is drawing major attention at Barcelona after helping the club’s Cadet B team win the Catalan Cup with a 4-1 victory over Espanyol. Goren scored the fourth goal from outside the penalty area in the final, and Spanish media say he finished the season strongly.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Goren is expected to begin preparations for the 2026-27 season with Barcelona’s first team. The newspaper wrote that he is attracting “great excitement at the highest levels of the club,” where officials are following him closely. It said several academy players will train at the start of the next preseason, after which coach Hansi Flick will decide who joins the summer training camp.

Among those candidates, Goren is described as especially highly regarded by the club’s top brass. The report noted that he had already stood out in an impressive season with the Under-19 A side and only dropped down to the Under-18 B team to help his teammates win the trophy. It added that the Israel youth international is a delicate, technical and very elegant midfielder, with several strong performances in the UEFA Youth League.

Barcelona views him as a versatile player who understands space well and can operate in different areas of the pitch. People who know him compare his profile to Pedri, and the coaching staff reportedly shows him videos of the Spanish midfielder. The club says Goren is eager to learn, likes video analysis and individual training, but still needs to improve ball security and make more runs into the box. His first-team opportunity is expected in a little less than a month.