Barcelona have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, with doubts about the likes of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and others small in the rearview mirror, but there is one player that has struggled to show the same improvement as his colleagues. Admittedly Ansu Fati has not had many chances to do so, but his lack of involvement is just as concerning.
The former teenage prodigy remains an afterthought for Hansi Flick, featuring just once from the start and with 132 minutes to his name, despite the absence of Ferran Torres through injury. After a meeting with agent Jorge Mendes last week, Sport say Barcelona have decided to allow him to leave on loan again in January. The player will make the final decision on whether to do so or not, but Barcelona are keen for him to revitalise his career, as is Mendes, and currently at Montjuic, that is not happening.
Official: The squad. @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/dge6vIPHUO
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After an unsuccessful season at Brighton and Hove Albion, Saudi Arabia were still willing to move for him in the summer, as were Sevilla. The former were not of interest to Fati, while the latter can only afford to pay around 30% of his wages, something which made the offer significantly less attractive for the club.
Flick had also promised Fati that he would be given his chance under his new regime, but between an injury and competition for places, he is yet to see much game time. It remains the case that he is stuck in an unfortunate cycle of needing minutes to get back into match sharpness, but is struggling to show enough to earn those minutes over other players. Fenerbahce have also been consistently linked with Fati.
