Ansu Fati was regarded as the next big thing coming out of La Masia. At the age of 16, he stepped into the first team and looked at home. By the end of the season, it looked like the world was his oyster and the Spaniard could reach unparalleled heights.
After all, who could have been faulted for expecting Ansu to become a superstar? He had everything at such a young age – excellent attacking awareness, dribbling, a sharp turn, and most importantly, a natural eye for goal that cannot be coached.
Just when it looked like nothing could go wrong, disaster struck. Ansu got injured against Real Betis and nothing has been the same. The 21-year-old has gone through injury trauma like one would never wish on their worst enemy and is still trying to get back to his best level.
Barcelona tried to build his confidence back up by sanctioning a move on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion for the entirety of the last season. However, Ansu after a bright start, suffered yet another injury and could not break into the starting XI.
Since returning to Barcelona, the appointment of new coach Hansi Flick gave Ansu the chance to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. The talented 21-year-old Spaniard had apparently caught the eye of the German coach during training before suffering yet another injury.
During his presentation as the new Barcelona coach, Hansi Flick spoke about Fati, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano, saying that the player is having a great impact and expressing regret that he is injured again.
“Ansu Fati had a great impact, I was very happy with him. Now he’s injured but we will wait for him to come back stronger, for sure.”
As highlighted by Barca Times, Flick even went on to explain what kind of role he envisions for Fati in his tactical setup and hinted that he could be used as a striker going forward.
“Ansu plays as LW but he can also play as the ‘9’. My technical team is working specifically with him and now we have to wait for him because of his unfortunate injury.”
These quotes are a clear show of support from Hansi Flick towards Ansu Fati and a reassurance that he still very much features in the German coach’s plans. It also effectively closes any door of a departure this summer.
As a Barcelona fan, there is nothing that one would like more than seeing Ansu playing football with a smile and performing at his best level. At 21, he still has a long way to go in his career and could still become the player he always looked destined to become.
Having a coach like Flick who trusts him immensely will do the Spanish international the world of good. Let’s hope that this is the last of Ansu’s injury issues and that he can make a successful return from this latest setback very soon.
