Bojan Krkic scored two goals for Barcelona in their last game in the Copa Del Rey, a game which the Catalan team won 5-0 and the youngster will surely hope that his performance in the game will go some way in persuading manager Pep Guardiola to give him more playing time. Since making his first team debut in April 2007, Bojan has gone on to make almost 100 appearances for Barca yet a large proportion of these have been as a mere substitute, especially since the arrival of Guardiola last year.

It is the result of this lack of opportunity that many have started to question whether, by staying at Camp Nou, the striker's growth as a player is being stunted. Out went Eto'o and in came Ibrahimovic. If media reports are to be believed, this summer, out will go Thierry Henry (for an MLS payday) and (hopefully?) in comes David Villa. Brazilian striker Keirrison, currently on loan to Benfica also lurks in the shadows, while at home, young Pedro Rodriguez continues to impress. Critics have also debated whether Bojan, the scorer of around 1000 goals for the Barca youth team, has the ability to make it as a top class player. Having played with the Barca boys for almost a decade now and thus having learnt the 'Barca way' through the excellent training at La Masia, it may be wise to send the player out on loan to a Primera Division side where he plays a solid 38 game season or thereabouts. His development as a player is belittled in comparison with one of the world's other great young strikers - Alexandre Pato. A year older, the Brazilian has made great strides since joining AC Milan from Internacional. Some may point to the fact that 'The Duck' has scored around 10 more goals than Bojan in around 22 less appearances but they must bear in mind that he has made many more starts. While this may be the case, Pato's all round development in terms of his game and his physical and mental state has been superior to that of Bojan and it looks increasingly likely that in a few years time, it his name that will be mentioned in a debate of the world's best forwards.

 Unfortunately for Bojan, there is more than enough competition on the international scene - Torres and Villa will, without doubt be Spain's first choice strikers for the next few years and then, competition comes from the likes of the impressive Alvaro Negredo, Dani Guiza, Fernando Llorente etc. Even in his debut in the autumn of 2008, he was asked to play out of position for La Seleccion. Perhaps missing out on the plane to South Africa will drive the youngster into action.