There are many talented gems within the FC Barcelona subsidiary and youth ranks. These players are some of the best that their age group has to offer, and they continue to showcase that. Even after a certain age, however, it remains difficult for most to break into the Barcelona first team.
However, the same difficulty does not persist equally for everyone, especially not for those with generational blessings. Lamine Yamal, undoubtedly, is the most clear example of this as the crown jewel of La Masia and the Barcelona subsidiary. His performances this season have been a revelation, and he does not seem to be slowing down.
As highlighted by AS, Barcelona director Deco himself confirmed that the youngster’s physical development is going well. The Spaniard, as per Deco, has grown 10 centimeters over the course of the last year. Moreover, he continues to develop beyond just basic height and muscle.
Lamine Yamal continues to follow a specific development plan alongside the right dietary and bodybuilding regulations. These have been put into place to allow the youngster to not have any stunts in terms of his growth due to the excessive pressure and demands of professional football at the highest level.
Yet, despite these developments, he still retains arguably his most lethal weapon; his dribbling. In fact, according to data provided by Opta, the young 16-year-old Barcelona wonderkid is Europe’s most lethal dribbler.
He has a success rate in his dribbles (59.7%) greater than that of several elite masters of the ball such as Man City’s Jeremy Doku (58.7%), Bayern’s Leroy Sane (55.5%), and Jamal Musiala (55.1%).
Moreover, in La Liga alone, Yamal dribbles successfully at least once every 29 minutes on average. These figures are only eclipsed marginally by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Athletic Club’s Nico Williams, who do it once every 26 and 27 minutes respectively.
However, beyond just his immense talent, his commitment is also unquestionable. Against Athletic Club in the Copa Del Ray, for instance, he played until the 105th minute and even scored a wondrous goal in the same game. Moreover, in all 32 games for Barcelona this season that he has been available, Yamal has featured in every single one of them.
He only missed two games this season due to suspension in the Copa Del Ray, and those also were carried on from last season. This season, however, the 16-year-old right winger has been almost unstoppable. At the moment, there is simply no telling what his true potential might even be.