Barcelona forward Ansu Fati will be given one last chance to save his career at the Nou Camp after recovering from injury, according to reports.
Fati was once seen as one of Europe's brightest talents and was claimed to have had an £83.5m bid rejected by Manchester United in 2020. Barcelona later managed to tie him down to a new contract with a £363 million release clause.
But the winger failed to progress in his career and quickly fell out of favor with the Catalan club, who loaned him to Brighton for the 2023/24 season.
Injuries have not aided the 22-year-old's progress, with two separate fitness issues keeping him out of the team for much of the season so far.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, Fati will now get the second half of the season to earn back a place in the team. However, it goes on to say that manager Hansi Flick will have to put him on the transfer list next summer if he fails to make the cut.
Fati, who has made seven appearances this season, still has a contract until 2027 but he appears to be well down the pecking order at the moment, with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal having great seasons and clearly being the first choice under Flick. Even Fermin Lopez seems to be ahead of him after leaving the academy.
Fati was involved in the matchday squad for Barcelona's 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday, but did not come off the bench, but with the club in poor form after two defeats and a draw in their last two games, Flick can choose to call on him.
He is the youngest ever goalscorer for the club after scoring for the first team at the age of 16 and picking up his first cap for Spain at 17. He scored eight times from 33 appearances in his first season, but then the move to United fell through. in 2020, Fati struggled with consistency and fitness.
Fati made just 25 appearances in both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, before making 51 appearances in 2022/23, but was then sent to Brighton, where he scored four goals in 27 games.
Flick had previously given Fati hope of getting minutes under his charge in the summer after being impressed with him in training before his injury.
The German said: “Ansu was incredible in the first days. He was very fit and he showed it on the pitch and in training. And now it's not good and we don't have him here and in America, but we will doing.” help him come back stronger.”
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