Oriyan Goren set for Barcelona first-team preseason after standout youth season

Oriyan Goren, the 17-year-old Israeli midfielder, continues to attract attention in Spain after helping Barcelona's U-17 B team win the Catalan Cup with a 4-1 victory over Espanyol, scoring the fourth goal with a shot from outside the box. According to a report in Mundo Deportivo, Goren is expected to begin preparations for the 2026-27 season with Barcelona's first team and is drawing strong interest from the club's top decision-makers.

The newspaper said several academy players will take part in the opening training sessions for next season, after which coach Hansi Flick will decide who joins the preseason camp. Among those likely to be called up, Goren is considered especially highly rated at the top of Barcelona. The report added that he had an outstanding season with the U-16 team and came back to the U-17 B side to help them win the trophy.

Mundo Deportivo described Goren as a delicate, technical and very elegant midfielder who has already impressed in several strong UEFA Youth League appearances. It said he can play in multiple positions and has a good sense of space, allowing him to operate across different areas of the pitch. People familiar with him compare his profile to Pedri, and the coaching staff has even been showing him videos of Pedri.

The article said Goren is eager to learn and enjoys video sessions and individual training. His main strengths are his movement and intuition, including a tendency, like Pedri, to drop deep to help build attacks. The main areas for improvement are reducing ball losses and adding more runs into the penalty area. Barcelona is expected to give some academy players at least one chance with the first team, and Goren's opportunity is likely to come in a little under a month.