‘He reminds me of Lahm‘ — Hansi Flick compares 18-year-old Barcelona gem to legendary Bayern Munich full-back | OneFootball

Hansi Flick lost both of his starting fullbacks at FC Barcelona last week as Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde suffered physical problems in the Copa del Rey tie against Atletico Madrid. As a result, Joao Cancelo is the only natural fullback available to the Blaugrana coach.

In such a context, the German tactician has called up some defenders from the youth ranks, and Xavi Espart has been one of these youngsters who have trained with the first team frequently in the last week, along with Alvaro Cortes.

There is no doubt that Flick thinks very highly of these youngsters, and this was made even clearer when the German coach talked to the press ahead of the game against Athletic Club.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Barcelona coach compared Espart to one of the best fullbacks in the modern history of European football, i.e., Philipp Lahm:

There is no doubt that this is very high praise from Hansi Flick for Xavi Espart. Hopefully, the Barcelona youngster would go on to justify these comparisons in the months and years to come.