One of the surprise deals of the summer transfer window saw Ansu Fati swap Barcelona for Brighton.
The young winger joined the Seagulls on a season-long loan with manager Roberto De Zerbi thought to have been hugely influential in the Spaniard’s decision to come to the Premier League.
Joining Brighton until the end of the 2023-24 season, Fati, 20, will now have the chance to finally showcase his talent following a stop-start beginning to his Nou Camp career.
Despite being promoted to the Catalan giants’ first team in 2020, the young wide-attacker has started just 21 La Liga games.
And understandably eager to rack up more first-team minutes, the Bissau-born forward opted for a temporary loan switch, but despite leaving, manager Xavi is adamant his number 10 still has a future at the club.
“We want him to return and make history at Barcelona in the future,” the Barcelona boss told reporters, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.
“Ansu’s part of the club’s heritage, he just wanted to play and asked me to have this chance.”
How do you think Fati’s season will go? Will he have an impact on Brighton’s season? – Let us know what you think in the comments below.