The reverse Fabregas: Inside Marcus McGuane's switch from Arsenal to Barcelona and 'the Harvard of Football'

One of January's most interesting deals flew under the radar as the deadline closed

Marcus McGuane has swapped London Colney for Catalunya (Getty)

In the frantic last 24 hours of the transfer window, there was one move that was never going to grab the bombastic headlines of everything else going on, but could well prove a much more important development in the long term.

It was not just an inverse of all the intensity elsewhere, either, but also a reverse of another story from 2003 that itself developed into something much bigger.

That was 18-year-old Marcus McGuane’s decision to leave Arsenal for Barcelona. It comes 15 years after the London club captured Cesc Fabregas from the Catalans, and 12 years after a delightfully giddy six-year-old McGuane was photographed under the Spanish star’s number-four jersey.

McGuane poses with a Fabregas shirt as a child (Marcus McGuane)

It would obviously be outlandish and unfair on the English underage international to say he is going to be another Fabregas, but there are many at Arsenal wondering how this very talented midfielder was allowed leave. Arsene Wenger similarly rated him, having already used him in the Europa League.

McGuane has instead joined a fairly exclusive group, becoming just the fourth British man to go to this great club after Steve Archibald, Mark Hughes and Gary Lineker and fifth player overall after Toni Duggan. That jersey is quite a birthday gift, as he turned 19 on Friday, two days after the move.

Less eye-catching but maybe more relevantly, McGuane’s decision also means he joins another longer list, and one that is really growing.

McGuane follows Chris Willock's lead in leaving Arsenal for Europe (Getty)

The Greenwich lad is just the latest young British player to opt to continue his development on the continent. He follows Benfica’s Chris Willock, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Mandela Egbo, Willem II’s Dan Crowley, Wolfsburg’s Kaylen Hinds, Sparta Rotterdam’s George Dobson and perhaps most notably Borussia Dortmund’s Jordan Sancho.

It could be valuable for England but, much more importantly, valuable for the development of young players.

The trend also highlights something of a problem for English football, given that many are moving because they want the regular competitive football at that age that will properly develop them. The demands at top Premier League clubs are now such that academy players between 17 and 20 can fall into a troublesome grey area, where they aren’t yet ready for the first team but also aren’t really being given the proper football that will make them ready. The reserves just don’t cut it in that regard. Neither does safe no-consequence youth football. It means so many just stall, and maybe don't become what they might have been given that properly exacting experience at that age is so important.

McGuane poses at the Camp Nou as a child (Marcus McGuane)

This dilemma was of course one part of McGuane’s decision, but not the only thing weighing on his mind. There was also the fact that, with just six months left on his contract, he had as many as 30 clubs interested in him - including Juventus and Manchester United. Since he is “an Arsenal boy who adores the club”, though, Barcelona were really the only team he would have been truly happy leaving London Colney for. The thoughtful McGuane has always been enthralled and fascinated by them and wanted to test himself by trying a new culture - Sassuolo in Serie A were also seriously considered, as they promised first-team football. Aiding this move is that his girlfriend speaks Spanish, and it really became a no-brainer for someone that bright.

Once Barca’s interest was confirmed, and the idea of developing in-house through their B team - and in the actual Spanish second division - was raised, it was “impossible to refuse”.

He is essentially going to the Harvard of football, still the best education possible in the game, but all while getting proper professional experience. Even if McGuane doesn’t actually make it to the Barcelona first team - although it should be stressed he very much has the belief he can - the way they will complete him as a player will be invaluable.

If the decision also makes McGuane a rare British player to have joined Barca, he is also a rare player that Barca now have in their B team. They specifically wanted him because he has a hugely distinctive blend of technique and physicality. The Catalans often lack this exact type of player and, having first watched him two years ago, kept a close eye. They felt he had something. They realised they had to move once it was becoming clear he wanted to.

McGuane has already made an impression in the B dressing room run by former attacking midfielder Gerard Lopez, who himself came through this team before getting a move to Valencia, starring in the Champions League and then signing back for Barcelona.

Amid all of this, and through signing his contract in the wood-panel offices, the determined McGuane was still very calm.

It made a difference to what was going on everywhere else this week, but it fits a deal that could prove a difference.