Valverde said: “He is a player that can give us a lot. He can give us possession, goals and he was really motivated today. He had a great game during the minutes that he played.”

Spurs are already without their nine World Cup semi-final representatives for their trip to America and Pochettino’s options have been further depleted after injuries to Victor Wanyama, Erik Lamela and Moussa Sissoko. Wanyama’s knee problem is potentially serious and he has flown back to London to see a specialist.

But regardless of the casualties, Pochettino says it is crucial that Spurs add to their squad before the August 9 Premier League transfer deadline.

“We are going to see what happens in the next few days,” said Pochettino.

“But with or without injuries, I think that’s our target [to strengthen the team] to bring in some players and add some with quality who can help us to achieve our goals.”

Both sides were without many of their big names, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris all still recovering from their exertions at the World Cup.

But Barcelona’s weakened team dominated the opening half and went ahead through a devastatingly simple 15th minute opener. Andre Gomes delivered an inswinging cross from the left, Rafinha escaped at the far post and headed the ball back into the six-yard box, where Munir cushioned it into the net from point-blank range.

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A second arrived courtesy of Arthur. Rafinha laid the ball back to the midfielder on the edge of the area and he effortlessly swept it into the far top corner beyond the helpless Gazzaniga.

But after Valverde introduced a raft of teenagers into the fray, Spurs began to pull themselves back into the game and pulled level with two goals in as many minutes.

First, the Barcelona defence failed to deal with Ben Davies’ left wing cross and after Christian Eriksen saw his shot blocked, Son Heung-min latched onto the rebound to divert a shot into the unguarded net.

The leveller then arrived when Barcelona struggled with another low cross, this time from the right. Eriksen’s shot was cleared off the line, but academy product Georges-Kevin N’koudou pounced with a volley from inside the six-yard box.

In the penalty shoot-out that followed, Anthony Georgious missed for Spurs, with Barcelona converting all five of their spot-kicks.

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