Newcastle United and Crystal Palace among clubs eyeing move for in-form Barcelona loanee – Report | OneFootball

La Masia has produced many gems in recent years, but the player who kick-started it all a few seasons ago was Ansu Fati. The young attacker made his first-team debut aged 16 and became a mainstay in a struggling Barcelona team.

On the evidence of his first couple of seasons, the sky seemed to be the limit for Ansu Fati, but it all came crashing down after an injury he suffered against Real Betis. Recovery took more than 12 months, and since then, it has been one setback after another.

Fati even went on loan to Brighton in an attempt to resurrect his career, but to no avail. Last season, he hardly featured under Hansi Flick, and in yet another attempt to get himself back on track, he joined AS Monaco on loan.

Adi Hutter, Monaco’s coach at the beginning of the season, took his time to integrate Fati into the first-team plans, slowly building him up to match fitness. The results have been clear for all to see, with the Spaniard starting in tremendous fashion.

In just three Ligue 1 matches, Fati has scored five goals and is averaging a goal every 32 minutes. Such performances have piqued the interest of several clubs, as per Fichajes, with Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, and Everton expressing interest in his signature.

Newcastle view him as a player who could elevate their long-term project, while Crystal Palace see him as a source of creativity and pace in attack. Everton, meanwhile, are looking for young talent to lead their rebuilding phase, and Fati fits that profile perfectly.

Monaco have an €11 million buy option to sign Fati at the end of the season, but Barcelona retain a buy-back of close to €28 million. Should he continue to perform at a similar rate throughout the campaign, the Catalan club will not hesitate to bring him back.

At just 22, Ansu has seen more ups and downs than many footballers experience in their entire careers. It is good to see him finally back to his best, playing the game with a smile. Let us wait and see whether he has a future at the Catalan club.