Barcelona boss Xavi has named 15-year-old Lamine Yamal in his squad for Sunday afternoon's La Liga contest with Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.

The left-footed attacker has been with Barcelona since the age of five, progressing through the various youth sides at the club, while he has also already been capped at Under-19 level by Spain.

Yamal will be a part of the squad that takes on Atletico on Sunday, and he could become Barcelona's youngest player of all time if he is introduced against Diego Simeone's side.

The forward would be 15 years and 285 days old if he featured at Camp Nou, which would break the record that was set by Armand Martinez Sagi in April 1922.

During his press conference on Saturday afternoon, Xavi was full of praise for the La Masia academy product, insisting that he is already capable of helping the first team.

"We are trying to give the youngsters a chance and he is a player who can help us and has great talent. He is young, with character, and is strong in 1v1s. He's a player who can shape an era with the team, he's not afraid of being called up. He might help us," said the head coach.

There is currently uncertainty surrounding Yamal's long-term future at the club, though, as he is yet to sign a professional contract at Camp Nou.

"His contract? We'll focus on the present. I am very happy with what I saw in training from him, and that's why I called him up. The idea that his contract is about to expire is not related to him being called up.

"The youngsters are not afraid at all. When I look at Lamine, I see an enormous level of self-confidence.

"Just as Pedri has [Andres] Iniesta's qualities, Lamine is different, too. He has things from several footballers and has an innate talent. I don't find him resembling anyone in particular."

Yamal is believed to have started training with the first team at the end of last year, and his form on the training field has convinced Xavi to hand him a chance in the senior squad.

Barcelona have also welcomed Pedri and Frenkie de Jong back into the squad, with the pair recovering from hamstring issues.

Ousmane Dembele, Andreas Christensen and Sergi Roberto are all absent through injury, but Dembele and Christensen are closing in on returns to action. body check tags ::