Yahoo Sports Julian Nagelsmann issues a warning to Barcelona wonderkid
It would appear that FC Barcelona are yet to see their brightest stars be tested to their limits. Currently, many of the team’s most prominent players are away on international duty with their respective countries. As always, however, FC Barcelona are keeping a keen eye on their progress for various evaluations and purposes.
Many of the club’s representatives also happen to be Spanish, with four players from FC Barcelona currently being in Spain’s squad for the European Championship. One of those players happens to be 16-year-old La Masia pearl Lamine Yamal, who has been thoroughly impressive in the tournament.
However, it may be possible that the bright young talent is yet to face his biggest challenge yet. Against Germany, in the quarterfinals stage of the European Championship, the young Barcelona star will be accompanied by club teammates such as Pedri, Ferran Torres, and Fermin Lopez, alongside the rest of Spain’s exciting squad.
While many may be excited to see the young Barcelona prodigy in action, Germany’s coach seems to have a different message for him instead. As highlighted by SPORT, Julian Nagelsmann has recently issued a statement towards Yamal that is a hybrid of sorts between both praise and warning:
“He’s a very talented player. He has been very consistent this year, and not many have remained as stable throughout the year at Barcelona… (However) He is only 16 years old, which means our players have a great chance to control him. We will see how he reacts when things get tougher.”
A rather strong message from the German coach considering that Yamal is still only the youngest of players to ever feature in the competition. However, the former Bayern Munich coach did soften his tone before he ended that statement, one that felt suspiciously directed towards the young Barcelona starlet, by adding:
“Don’t worry, we don’t want to leave him speechless.”
However, Nagelsmann did clarify that his focus will not be fully on Lamine Yamal. Instead, he will be hoping his own brightest youngster will be the one to draw all the spotlight towards him during the game between Spain and the German team:
“My attention is less on Yamal and more on Jamal (Musiala). We want to have the ball ourselves, that’s always more pleasant and it’s also the plan for tomorrow.”
As it stands, less than 24 hours remain in the much anticipated quarterfinal clash between two favorites of the tournament. Yamal is already getting a lot of praise from people even outside of Barcelona for his performances, and there is a lot of faith being put in the Spanish youngster to deliver against the German team.
