Barcelona's dressing room is filling back up with World Cup winners, but Hansi Flick has made a point of keeping one 17-year-old exactly where he is. Orian Goren remains part of the German coach's senior training group, ONE reports, even as the club returns to full strength for the start of the new season.
Goren, born in Ramat Gan in 2009, moved to Barcelona's academy from Maccabi Petah Tikva and has lived and trained at La Masia since 2023. He signed his first professional contract with the club last year, running through 2028, and has quickly become one of the youngest names on Flick's radar — second in age in the wider squad only to the Gambian forward Ebrima Tunkara.
The endorsement from Flick has been public and specific. Asked which of the club's young prospects had stood out to him during preseason work, the coach named three: Tunkara, winger Xavi Espart and Goren, saying the trio had "really impressed" him in training camp.
It is more than just kind words. Goren has already had a taste of senior football, starting as Barcelona beat Club Europa 4-1 in a preseason friendly last month and later coming off the bench against Birmingham City, a game the Catalans lost on penalties after a 2-2 draw. According to ONE, he continues to train alongside fellow academy hopefuls such as goalkeeper Áron Yaakobishvili and Espart rather than being farmed out to Barça Atlètic full-time, at least for now.
The timing matters. Spain's World Cup winners — among them Pau Cubarsí, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal — have been steadily rejoining Barcelona training after their run to the title on penalties over Argentina in last month's final in North America, with Ferran Torres scoring the winning goal in extra time. Their return usually squeezes out fringe players, yet Goren has held his place.
Barcelona are also managing an unusually thin midfield. Frenkie de Jong is facing an extended spell on the sidelines, reported by Marca to be close to four months, after picking up a knee problem around the World Cup break — one more reason the club is inclined to keep promising young cover close at hand.
Torres, meanwhile, is on his way out. He has missed training as Barcelona works to finalize his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, a deal reported to be worth around €50 million plus bonuses and one the club has sanctioned as talks with the French side continue.
None of this guarantees Goren a route into Flick's matchday squads once La Liga begins — Spanish reporting still expects him to spend the bulk of the season with Barça Atlètic in the third tier. But for a teenager who was playing in Israel's youth ranks barely three years ago, simply surviving Flick's preseason cuts alongside the club's World Cup heroes is a considerable marker of trust.
