Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has admitted 16-year-old Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal has exceeded expectations during the international break as he prepares to make history as the nation’s youngest player ever.
Yamal, who turned 16 in July, has managed two assists in four games for Barcelona, which earned him a call-up to the Spain squad for the September internationals.
Already the youngest player to ever receive a call-up, Yamal could become Spain’s youngest-ever debutant if he features against either Georgia or Cyprus, breaking the record set by Gavi by nearly an entire year.
De la Fuente was keen to insist Yamal’s call-up is not simply a gimmick and stressed just how impressed he has been by the teenager in training.
“Lamine Yamal seemed very good to me, watching him on TV. But now that I’m working with him, I think he’s much better,” he told the press.
“He is a 16-year-old player, but the form he has on the field seems much more mature. He is a different player with a promising future.”
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While few have questioned Yamal’s talent, concerns have been raised over the speed at which he has been switched over to senior football, with many fans worried the teenager is being asked to do too much too soon.
Similarities can be drawn to the emergence of midfielder Pedri, who played a ludicrous 73 games for club and country in the 2020/21 season when he was just 18 years old and has struggled with injuries ever since.
A hamstring injury has sidelined Pedri for the current international break and reports in Spain state Barcelona have been forced to push back his return date to late in October – two months after he first went down with the injury.
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