FC Barcelona teenage midfielder Riqui Puig made a promising La Liga debut on Saturday in a 0-0 draw with SD Huesca. He was unarguably one of the best five Barca youngsters who made their league debut against Huesca. One of his highlight reels of the game was an exquisite Andres Iniesta-like reverse pass to Ousmane Dembele in the box.

Head coach Ernesto Valverde was impressed by the youngster. “Riqui’s a player who’s good with the ball and has a presence, he doesn’t hide,” Valverde said via Sport English.

It was only his first league-match but it appears as if Puig has what it takes to wear Barcelona’s heavy red and blue jersey.

But will he be wearing that jersey next season?

As of now, there will be seven attacking minded midfielders battling for a spot in the starting XI next season: Philippe Coutinho, Carles Alena, Frenkie de Jong, Arthur Melo, Ivan Rakitic, Rafinha, and Arturo Vidal.

According to Sport English Barca might send Puig on loan to AFC Ajax, where it would be easier for him to get more playing time hence develop quicker as a player. The choice of sending a youngster with potential on loan or not can be one of the hardest choices a soccer club has to make.

The teenager doesn’t want to step away from his beloved team. “I only want to stay here. It’s my team, it’s my parents’ team and I’ve been here since I was a child. If it’s up to me, I’ll stay,” the midfielder said via Marca.

If Puig does go on loan to Ajax, as noted, it will be less difficult for him to break into the first team. However, a loan move would come with negatives also. Puig has been with Barcelona since 2013, he would have to adjust to Ajax’s system. The Dutch side does play a similar style with Barca, which would make it easier for Puig to fit in but he would be around different players and in a new environment as a 19-year-old.

The Spanish giants’ loanee Denis Suarez, for example, is finding it a bit hard to gel with the team they sent him to, Arsenal FC, even though both clubs play possession soccer.

Since joining the Gunners during the winter break, Suarez has only played six matches and hasn’t found the net nor racked an assist. Arsenal head coach Unai Emery did say Suarez was ready to play a full 90 in a competitive match two months after he joined the club but he has yet to do so.

On a good note, another Blaugrana loanee is performing well outside of the Camp Nou, Andre Gomes. However his numbers don’t show it, Gomes notched one goal and two assists for Everton in 28 appearances. But the Portuguese has been playing so well that other clubs, such as Tottenham Hotspur FC, are targeting him.

Despite that it’s highly doubtful that Barcelona will bring him back to the club. Marca reported that FCB will sell both Suarez and Gomes. This leads to the major down factor that could happen if the Spanish champions send Puig on loan; he might not return.

Out of the 15 players the Catalonian side sent on loan in the past three seasons, only two returned: Thomas Vermalean and Rafinha.

It’s safe to say that when Barcelona sends a player on loan more than likely they’re not part of their plan anymore. Nevertheless, it would be a little different with Puig; he only played two matches with the team and he excelled. If FCB were to lend the youngster to Ajax, it would simply be because they have a ton of talented midfielders on their roster.

Therefore unless Puig proves that he has what he takes to be a top-notch midfielder every time he’s given a chance to play, as he did on Saturday, his playing time will be minimal. This could seriously affect his career.

That’s a risk the teenager is willing to take because he loves the club. Perhaps he’s confident enough to believe he’s able to rack a considerable amount of minutes over his fellow Blaugrana midfielders. If indeed Puig can manage to crack through this sea of gifted midfielders at Barca, he would be showing the marks of a future Barcelona legend in the making.