Chelsea among several PL giants tracking Barcelona's history-making forward
According to Spanish publication Fichajes, Chelsea are among four Premier League clubs said to be interested in prodigious Barcelona teenage talent Lamine Yamal. Chelsea fans, it’s time to look away; it isn’t happening.
La Masia is one of the best academies in the world. It keeps churning up world-class talents on a regular basis and the latest one to emerge out of the conveyor belt is Lamine Yamal. The 16-year-old is absolutely lighting up the La Liga with his performances this season.
Yamal made his debut for Barcelona as a 15-year-old. His road to the first team opened up when Ousmane Dembele decided to leave the club for PSG in the summer and Xavi Hernandez did not sign a replacement.
He has played 29 games for the club this season across all competitions, scoring three goals and providing five assists. His performances have given a ray of hope in what has been a very poor season for the club. Barcelona have already lost the domestic cups and are not in a great position to win La Liga or the Champions League.
According to FBREF, the teenage sensation ranks in the 93rd percentile for xAG, 92nd for npxG + xAG, 85th for pass completion percentage, 90th for progressive carries, 91st for successful take-ons, 93rd for touches in the attacking penalty area, 93rd for progressive passes received, 95th for tackles, 82nd for interceptions and 93rd for blocks.
Barcelona are in financial distress. They are struggling both on the pitch and off it. One thing that they almost never do irrespective of the situation they find themselves in is the fact that they value their academy graduates a lot more than we do.
It’s just not for Chelsea. Barcelona are unlikely to sell Yamal to any of the four aforementioned clubs unless the player himself explicitly asks for one. Considering how he is loved by the Spanish club’s fans, there’s no reason for the 16-year-old to abandon ship.
Football fans have a thing for a like-for-like replacements. More specifically, they have a thing for spotting similarities with the days gone by. There lies more than one football romantic who is struck by nostalgia when manifested by the idea of a left-footed right winger wearing a Barcelona jersey and dribbling past defenders for fun and making people’s jaws drop.
Yamal still has a long way to go but it most likely is going to be in a Barcelona jersey. Chelsea will need to look elsewhere for realistic options. It’s only a matter of time before the talk fizzles out.
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