Seven academy players to do pre-season with first team

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde plans to bring in seven players from Bilbao Athletic for the first-team's pre-season training camp. Two of them are goalkeepers. Alex Padilla, 19, returns after spending last summer with the Lions and is joined by 19-year-old keeper Oier Gastesi, who played for Basconia last season and will be promoted to the B team for the upcoming campaign.

Full-backs Hugo Rincón, 20, and Miguel Barandalla, 19, as well as centre-back Unai Egiluz, 21, have also been called up. Egiluz has made 27 appearances for the reserve team, right-back Rincón has featured 29 times and left-back Barandalla, who has been playing with Basconia, got his first minutes as a Cub last season.

The other two are midfielders. Unai Gómez, 20, and Junior Bita, 18, who both trained frequently with the senior side in the second half of last season, also make the squad. Gómez was a regular with the reserves, making 34 appearances and scoring twice until Valverde brought him into the first-team fold. Bita, who played around ten games for Bilbao Athletic, was in the senior matchday squad for the last three games.

Padilla and Gastesi's involvement is due to a need for goalkeepers in the squad, as both Unai Simón and Julen Agirrezabala will start pre-season training at later date due to their international commitments.

Asier Villalibre, who finished his loan spell with Deportivo Alavés just ten days ago, as well as Oihan Sancet and Aitor Paredes, who are currently involved in the European Under-21 Championships, will also join up with squad later on after taking a extended period of rest.