Barcelona midfielder Pedri has praised coach Hansi Flick for giving young players the confidence they need to succeed.

Barça has the youngest team in LaLiga with an average age of 23.6 years.

Barça are three points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of the table ahead of Saturday’s Clásico at the Bernabéu.

“It’s very important,” Pedri told ESPN of Flick’s commitment to developing homegrown talent.

“The self-confidence that the coach gives to all young players is given back with good play. This gives them confidence and gives them more freedom to try things out.”

Flick used six players from the youth academy in Wednesday’s 4-1 home win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Barça’s second win in the competition.

“We see a lot of players leaving La Masia (Barça’s youth academy) and it is the soul of this club,” Pedri said.

Dani Olmo, who returned to Barça from Leipzig this summer, is happy that academy players are getting opportunities.

A youth product of Barça, Olmo moved to Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16.

“It’s amazing,” Olmo told ESPN. “Barcelona is the best academy in the world. La Masia We’ve shown that over the years, so we’re celebrating it now as we have a lot of players in the first team who grew up in La Masia. It just motivates all the players coming forward to keep working because they can get a chance.”

Veteran Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, who came out of retirement at Barça earlier this month following Marc-André ter Stegen’s injury, admits having so many young players in the team takes some getting used to.

“I have to tell you, it’s weird,” he told ESPN. “Some of these players probably haven’t seen me play for Arsenal and I feel like that wasn’t that long ago!”

“But it’s a big reason why I decided to come because I believe I can give something to this team.”

“So as an experienced player you try to talk to these young kids and help them understand maybe the right moments to push, the right moments to maybe let up a little bit.”

When asked which young Barça talent impressed him the most, Szczęsny said: “(Pau) Cubarsí (17 years old) is an exciting player because when I saw him on TV I expected a modern defender who is very “Good on the ball, but more on the soft side.” When it comes to defending, and when you watch him live, he’s actually quite unpleasant to play against and he’s very strong in defensive tackles.

“So he’s one that impresses the most, but you can look at all the La Masia products and it’s all very exciting for the future of the club.”

21-year-old Pedri also praised Flick for his tactics.

“Above all, he has very clear ideas,” said the Spanish international. “I think a progressive defensive line really sets us apart in all games. He gave us the confidence that we could do it and believe in ourselves.”