As per Fabrizio Romano, Brighton have sent an official loan bid to Barcelona for Ansu Fati, who is also a target of Tottenham.
The Seagulls are understood to be ‘increasingly confident’ to make the deal happen, and they are now advancing on the deal fast. This comes after Spurs negotiated with the Spanish giants earlier today (Wednesday), but it is said that The Lilywhites are instead prioritizing a move for Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson.
Fati made his debut for Barça as a 16-year-old during his breakout season in 2019/20; a campaign in which he scored seven and assisting one in 24 La Liga appearances and broke multiple records in the process- becoming the youngest ever Champions League goal scorer, youngest Barcelona scorer and third-youngest scorer in the history of La Liga.
However, despite getting off to an excellent start the following season, the now 20-year-old ruptured his inner meniscus in his left knee, and was subsequently side-lined for just under a year, as per Transfermarkt.
Although taking over the famous number 10 from Lionel Messi following his return from this injury in October 2021, the La Masia academy graduate has suffered from multiple muscle injuries and struggled to regain his fitness since- featuring in just 10 league games in 2021/22. Furthermore- despite showing glimpses of his talent at times- these injuries have meant the Spain international has been unable to consistently display his excellent dribbling, explosiveness, and ball-striking ability from the left-wing; all traits which he showed throughout his debut campaign.
In the most recent season however, the talented forward started 12 games out of his 36 league appearances, averaging 39 minutes per match and scoring seven and assisting three- equivalent to a rate of 0.65 goal contributions per 90 minutes.
As a result, Brighton will hope their new potential loan signing can maintain this rate and rediscover the performances that once saw him hold an €80m Transfermarkt market value- as Roberto De Zerbi’s side look to build upon their club-record sixth place finish in the Premier League last season and compete in European football for the first time in the club’s history.
Travis Levison | Get Football
