Barcelona has secured the services of United States youth international goalkeeper Diego Kochen for the long term, as the talented shot-stopper has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2028. The official signing of the deal is set to take place on March 19, coinciding with Kochen's 18th birthday.
Under this new agreement, Kochen will be promoted from the Under-19 team to Barça Atlétic, who competes in the third tier of Spanish football. Excitingly, he will also be donning the No. 24 shirt for the team. It is worth mentioning that Kochen has been consistently training and traveling with the first team, particularly since Marc-André ter Stegen suffered a back injury last November.
While waiting for his official first-team debut, Kochen has already had a taste of the action. He has been on the bench for Xavi Hernández's side in 13 matches this season. Additionally, in a friendly match against Liga MX side Club América in Dallas, he had the opportunity to shine, playing for 29 minutes.
Kochen initially signed his first professional contract with Barcelona in 2022. At just 16 years old, he committed to a three-year deal after joining the prestigious La Masia academy in 2019. Born in Miami to parents from Venezuela and Peru, Kochen is also eligible to represent Spain, as he has been living there since 2018. So far, he has only represented the United States at the youth level. However, the director for Spain's youth teams, Francis Hernández, has made efforts to convince him to switch allegiances and represent La Roja.
Interestingly, Kochen is not the only young American making strides at Barcelona. Adrian Simon Gill, an 18-year-old midfielder and U.S. youth international, is also part of the club. Unfortunately, Gill has been sidelined due to injury for the majority of this season. Nevertheless, he remains contracted to Barcelona until 2025.
Both Kochen and Gill aspire to follow in the footsteps of their compatriots, Konrad De La Fuente and Sergiño Dest, who have already played for Barcelona's first team. De La Fuente emerged from La Masia, making three appearances for the club before departing in 2021. Dest, who joined from Ajax for €20 million in 2020, has accumulated 68 appearances for Barcelona and is currently on loan at PSV Eindhoven.
As two promising Americans making strides within Barcelona's ranks, Diego Kochen and Adrian Simon Gill demonstrate the growing influence of U.S. talent within international football. With their continued development and potential first-team appearances, the duo could further cement their place in Barcelona's storied history.
