Barcelona boss Xavi hopes Ansu Fati can gain confidence and enjoy an upturn in form like Marcus Rashford. The forward is also a transfer target of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United have seen Rashford enjoy a career-best season already this term. The 25-year-old scored his 22nd goal of the campaign at Camp Nou this Thursday. He initially drew the Red Devils level in the 2-2 Europa League knockout round play-off first-leg draw.
Rashford has also laid on eight assists through 35 appearances across all competitions this season so far. His haul includes 12 goals and three assists over 23 Premier League outings, starting 21. The 51-cap England ace only scored five goals in 32 games during last season.
Xavi hopes Barcelona star Fati can follow in Man Utd ace Rashford’s footsteps
Erik ten Hag has overseen a remarkable turnaround for Rashford at Old Trafford since the Dutchman took charge last July. The forward has only outscored his 12 top-flight goals this term in the 2019/20 season with 17. Yet it took 31 games and 2,655 minutes to 1,891 this.
Now, Xavi hopes Fati can follow in Rashford’s footsteps and relaunch his Barcelona career in similar fashion. The 20-year-old has scored six and assisted three goals across 32 games in all competitions this term. But he has played just 1,149 minutes having started just nine.
“Hopefully, Ansu has the ability and he needs confidence,” Xavi said in a press conference, via quotes by Sport. “His performances will determine his development in the club. He has been important and we have high hopes for him.”
Fati also scored six goals and created one over 15 games for 574 minutes last season. The seven-cap Spain star endured a nightmare campaign after a meniscus injury wrote off 10 months of his season. He required multiple operations to resolve the frustrating problem.
Arsenal and Tottenham are now exploring the summer transfer of Fati
Despite Xavi believing Fati needs to rediscover his confidence, Arsenal and Tottenham are exploring the Barcelona ace’s transfer. La Vanguardia reports the north London rivals lead interest at Bayern Munich. While Fabrizio Romano cites Liverpool and Manchester United.
The Blaugrana will also let the forward leave Camp Nou for far less than the €1bn (£889m) release clause in his contract through to 2027. Ben Jacobs notes that Barcelona would sell Fati for €100m (£89m). The Masia product signed his terms at Camp Nou in October 2021.
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