La Liga club captain amazed by Barcelona teenage prodigy – ‘His potential is limitless’ | OneFootball

Barcelona will lock horns with Valencia on Sunday in La Liga, hoping to return to winning ways and stay in touch with league leaders Real Madrid.

Ahead of the contest at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Valencia captain Jose Gaya spoke to the media earlier today and highlighted Lamine Yamal as a threat, while praising the La Masia sensation.

Gaya hails Yamal

Gaya and Yamal will face off directly on Sunday and when asked if the 17-year-old was currently the best player in the world, the Valencia skipper replied:

“I do not know if he is the best, but he is certainly one of the best. I remember seeing him for the first time with the national team when he was 16 years old, and I was stunned. I said to myself, ‘he is going to be a player who will mark an era,’ and I believe he will do that.

“He has everything to succeed. It is true that he is very young, but his potential is limitless. If he is not the best, he is one of the best, and it is always nice to face players like him.”

Gaya has praised Lamine Yamal. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Talking about the challenge of going up against the Barcelona prodigy, Gaya added: “We always have the option to watch individual videos of the opponents we may face, but I have seen quite a lot of Lamine.

“He is hard to defend because you do not know what is better: whether to press him quickly or leave him space. If you press him quickly, he has the ability to go both ways, and if you back off, he can create tricky situations because he has a lot of speed.

“You have to defend aggressively and make him run backwards. Players like him prefer running forward rather than backward, and that is the key.”

Despite Valencia still being four points from safety, Gaya is confident they can turn things around and put in a good performance in the Catalan capital.

“We are going to face the best Barcelona. I watched the (Champions League) match, and it was a recital of how they believe in themselves,” noted Gaya.

“It is a fantastic team that is playing very well, with incredible players, and they have adapted to what their coach asks of them: to be very aggressive and move forward,” he said.

Source: Mundo Deportivo