Barcelona have promoted full-back Moussa Wague to their first-team squad next season, it has been confirmed by ESPN.
Wague has been handed the number 16 shirt at the club and it follows on from a report in El Mundo Deportivo that the Blaugrana were willing to promote the player.
It is claimed that the defender – who helped the Senegalese international team to this summer’s Africa Cup of Nations final – will provide back-up to Nelson Semedo in the right-back position.
Wague joined the Blaugrana last summer in a move worth in the region of €5m from Belgian club Eupen and spent last season in the club’s B team.
The report states that Barca want to push Sergi Roberto into a central midfielder role and see Wague as having the potential to challenge Semedo for a first-team spot at right-back.
It adds that Wague is now at a level which is too good for the club’s B team and if he cannot push for a first-team spot this season, he will be allowed to leave on loan.
Wague described his Barca La Liga first-team debut against Huesca in April as a "dream come true" and also appeared in league matches against Celta Vigo and Eibar late on in the campaign.
