Ronald Koeman himself is the first to acknowledge that of the signings this season there is one that has surprised her very pleasantly. His name is Pedri González, a versatile attacking midfielder who has not yet turned 18. His irruption in Blaugrana football has been so spectacular that in just two months he has made a hole in Koeman's eleven gala. In fact, he is the only signing of this summer that has managed to earn the undisputed starter stripes.
And it is that the numbers do not deceive: Pedri is the eleventh most used player in the squad with a total of 544 minutes. In these first ten official games – he has started a total of five -, his presence in the El Clásico eleven (1-3) and against Juventus (0-2), the two most important games of the league, has stood out above all. season.
Pedri beats the rest of the signings by far. He adds 139 minutes more than Philippe Coutinho – although it is true that the Brazilian has been out for three weeks after being injured in the Classic – while Sergiño Dest accumulates 396 minutes. Further away is the Bosnian Miralem Pjanic (302) and let alone the Portuguese winger Francisco Trincao (226). In a worse place is the Brazilian Matheus Fernandes, who not only has not been presented, but has not yet entered a call.
So, Pedri enters on its own merits in Koeman's ideal eleven, led by Frenkie de Jong (890), followed by Leo Messi (855), Gerard Piqué (788), Neto (720), Sergi Roberto (719), Sergio Busquets (692), Jordi Alba (681), Clement Lenglet (643), Ansu Fati (596) and Antoine Griezmann (589).
There is no doubt that Fati's injury and the return of Ter Stegen will modify this eleven gala in the coming weeks, but what seems incontestable is that the name of Pedri will continue to appear among the chosen ones.