Lamine Yamal is today what Ansu Fati was to Barcelona fans in 2019. The youngster made his debut for the club against Real Betis aged just 16 years, and his goalscoring record suggested that something special lay ahead.
What followed, however, was pure misery and misfortune as the youngster first tore his meniscus and had to go under the blade four times. His return was not smooth as he regularly suffered muscular blows and never returned to his best.
Hansi Flick showed great hope in recovering Fati’s lost version and tested out the player as a striker in his initial days at the club. A quarter of the season past us now, the player still stares at an uncertain future.
Departure on the cards?
As revealed in a recent report by SPORT, Fati’s future is still largely uncertain as he has failed to pounce on his opportunities at the club.
His current deal with Barcelona runs until 2027, but with the player not seeing the minutes he would have hoped for, a transfer in January cannot be ruled out.
Could Ansu leave in January? (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Fati has been linked with Sevilla in recent days in a bid to get more minutes under his belt. However, he prefers to stay in Barcelona until the end of the season at least and decide his future based on the situation then.
The 22-year-old, who celebrates his birthday today, has only played five games for Barcelona this season, four of which were off the bench.
He is yet to record a goal contribution and has been far from his explosive self with many claiming he may never reach his initial level again.
However, his performance against Sevillawas impressive and created hope that Flick could recover the player.
With the long season ahead and an inevitable need for rotations, Fati will get his chances as the months progress especially with Flick having limited options in attack. Everything will boil down to how he takes those chances.
