Great potential, undoubtedly, yet there will be no rushing of a young man from Llanishen who has only just completed his A-levels at Ysgol Glantaf in Cardiff.

The Blue and Blacks have already given Howe a taste of senior training and he will push Wales internationals Liam Belcher and Evan Lloyd, plus Dafydd Hughes, for action in 2026-27.

“It was great to get an insight into what I need to improve and to learn professional habits off the other boys,” said the teenager, who is in the club’s senior academy.

“It was really helpful and I can’t wait to get straight back into it. I’m working towards a debut but I’m not sure when that will come.

“I won’t hold my breath, I’ll just keep working hard and stay committed because I’ve got enough time. There’s no rush.”

Such maturity is valuable when others are keen to mention his name in a department where Wales are already well-stocked in this World Cup cycle.

Steve Tandy used Lake, Belcher, Ryan Elias and Brodie Coghlan in 2025-26 and also called up Elliot Dee and Lloyd.

Under-20s prospects are earmarked for the Test team every year but Howe does not let such hype affect him.

“You’re only as good as your last game and you have to keep working hard,” he said.

“It has happened so many times, players have been built up and nothing comes of it.

“My parents have made sure to tell me to stay humble and treat everybody the way that you would like to be treated.

“You meet the same people on the way up as you do on the way down, so stay humble and stay committed to the craft, I guess.”

Mykhailo Mudryk could return to action following 20 months on the sidelines on Wednesday after being named in Chelsea‘s squad to play Juventus in a friendly in Hong Kong.

The Ukraine international, 25, has not played a competitive match since November 2024, having been provisionally suspended after returning an “adverse finding” for banned substance meldonium.

But he was cleared to return to action last week after resolving his case with the Football Association.

New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso said: “Yes, he could play. Maybe [to play] 90 minutes it’s too early, but he can be selected. He’s selected, so he can play.

“He trained yesterday, came directly from the airport to the hotel. So, yesterday was more about the feelings, more about the emotions, to be back with the players to assess the fitness level.”

More to follow.

Imagine a Beatrix Potter illustration, replace the rabbits in aprons with a herd of dairy cows, and you’ve got the background to Barcelona’s training camp at St George’s Park.

The Spanish club spent the past week at the facilities, where all of England’s national teams are based. The location, near Burton upon Trent in rural Staffordshire, and the atmosphere, surrounded by golden fields, cosy homes and nocturnal silence, was a marked difference from their pre-season tour of South Korea and Japan last year.

Speaking with locals, nobody seemed to even know that Barca were there (they stayed for eight days, arriving on July 27 and returning to Catalonia on Monday). That was exactly what Hansi Flick wanted.

With no fans lurking by the gates, and practically no distractions, for the German manager it was the ideal place to prepare for the new campaign, with his defending champions set to restart in La Liga on August 23.

“I’d say it’s one of the best training camps I’ve ever been on,” the 61-year-old said at a press conference on Monday. “Conditions have been fantastic. Everything was very close by: the pitches, the facilities, and the grass was incredible.”

It wasn’t all plain sailing though. In their time away, Barca could only play one friendly match — a penalty shootout defeat by Birmingham City after a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes on Friday. A second game against Preston had to be cancelled after the Championship side pulled out at the last minute.

Here, The Athletic sums up Barca’s time away — and looks ahead to what comes next.

Why did Barca choose St George’s Park?

For the past four summers, Barcelona have opted for lucrative and busy summer trips to Asia or the United States. But after last year’s pre-season tour, Flick made it clear to the club that he would prefer to avoid long flights and harsh summer conditions.

There were also options for Barca in Germany’s Black Forest region (near where Flick was born) and Scotland, but in the end they chose to make a third trip to St George’s Park (they also visited in 2014 and 2016).

The facilities have absolutely everything — which explains their popularity. Valencia and Genoa were also there this summer.

However, while Flick and his team relished getting down to work, some within the squad joked about the lack of entertainment — beyond snooker and table tennis.

(Harriet Massey/Getty Images for DFB)

“It’s great for the coaching staff, but for the players it’s almost like a prison,” joked a dressing room source, speaking anonymously as they did not have permission to comment.
“Yesterday we had a look and the nearest place was an hour’s drive away. There’s nothing to do around here.”

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who spoke with The Athletic in an exclusive interview last week, was trying to focus on the positives, saying just before a press conference: “At least it’s colder than Barcelona!”

There was also something of a disconnect between the tranquillity of Staffordshire and the media circus that follows Barcelona everywhere they go.

“We’re used to seeing football teams round here, but not so many journalists,” said a waitress at The Bridge Inn, an Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Burton.

Why did Barca only play one game?

The club lined up two friendlies for their week in the UK. The first, against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s stadium, ended in a defeat on penalties after a 2–2 draw. The match was a sell-out — and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, who started his career with Birmingham, was in attendance.

The second was supposed to be a match against another Championship side, Preston North End, behind closed doors. It was due to be played on Monday afternoon, but was cancelled.

Barcelona sources said this was because the English side did not have enough first-team players available. They said the club was informed Preston did not want to take any risks given they had an EFL Cup match against Huddersfield Town on 8 August. Preston were approached for comment.

Instead, Barca held a match between the squad on that Monday afternoon. It ended 1–1, with goals from Fermin Lopez and Xavi Espart.

Who impressed Hansi Flick?

When asked this question at his press conference on Monday, Flick highlighted Ebrima Tunkara, Orian Goren and Espart especially. But he also said the overall level of the group had impressed him — and there were lots of young faces in the squad, with several first-team players still on their holidays after the World Cup.

“Ebrima is a great talent,” Flick said. “Orian Goren too. We’ve got plenty of players. Xavi (Espart) has played here as a right-back and did very well in the match against Birmingham. But you can also see in training that he’s at a very high level right now. And there’s plenty more.”

If you ask around the club, it is a shared feeling. One Barcelona source said Tunkara, a 16-year-old attacking midfielder, “could be the next Lamine Yamal”. He has been with Barca since the age of eight, progressing through La Masia’s ranks to become a Spain youth international.

He and Goren, a 17-year-old attacking midfielder from Israel who joined in 2023, were the squad’s youngest players.

Flick said he had been impressed by several of Barca’s youth players (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Brian Farinas is another player who made an impression. He is a 20-year-old defensive midfielder who might, following Frenkie de Jong’s injury, get some experience around the first team this season, although the Dutchman’s absence will be covered by other, more experienced players favoured by Flick, such as Marc Bernal, Gavi or Eric Garcia — who they initially wanted to play as a right-back this season.

Then there is Hamza Abdelkarim. The 18-year-old Egyptian striker scored both goals against Birmingham City and has just played in a World Cup. He is a centre-forward, a type of player not typically found at La Masia, which rarely produces clinical finishers in the box.

He is seen as a long-term prospect, but the club wants him to be integrated into the first team group as a backup attacker.

The Birmingham game also saw new signing Karim Adeyemi make his first Barca appearance after his transfer from Borussia Dortmund for a guaranteed fee of €22million (£18.8m; $25.3m), with add-ons potentially taking that beyond €30m.

What’s next for their pre-season preparations?

Barcelona’s next match is a three-way international fixture in Udine, Italy, against Nottingham Forest and Udinese on August 8.

On 19 August, they will play in the Joan Gamper trophy – a friendly tournament organised by Barcelona that serves as the Catalans’ pre-season opener. This year the invited opponents are Egyptian side Al Ahly.

Previously, Barca had planned to play a friendly against Moroccan club Ittihad Riadi in Tangier on August 15, but have confirmed the match has been delayed after the Ceuta migration crisis, sparked when 50,000 people rushed the Spain-Morocco border last week.

Meanwhile, those still on their post-World Cup breaks — including France’s Jules Kounde, England’s Anthony Gordon and the eight Barca players in Spain’s squad are due back from August 11 and August 12.