Youngster Alena signs new Barca deal

Madrid: FC Barcelona have renewed the contract of promising young midfielder Carles Alena until the end of June 2020, the Spanish football giants confirmed on their official website on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Alena is considered to be one of the 'pearls' of the Barca youth system and this season formed a regular part of the club's B-team which ended the season by winning promotion to the Spanish second division (Liga 123), reports Xinhua news agency.

He also made three appearances for the first team in the Liga Santander and made his debut in the Copa del Rey, scoring a stunning goal away to Alicante based outfit, Hercules.

It is still not certain whether Alena will spend next season with the first team or continue with the B-team.

With new Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, a firm believer in promoting young players as he showed at his former club, Athletic Club Bilbao, it is likely Alena will at least carry out pre-season training with Messi, Neymar and company and could form part of their squad to visit the United States in July.