‘We need players like him’… Hansi Flick praises 21-year-old Barcelona player ahead of UCL clash

FC Barcelona will be facing off against AS Monaco in their opening game of this season’s new-look UEFA Champions League. Now putting their past woes behind them, the Catalan giants look to make a new kind of impact. To do that, however, Barcelona will need all the support they can get.

Fortunately, they now have the experience and quality of a coach like Hansi Flick leading them, and it has proven to be a significant boost to this team. Throughout their first five fixtures in La Liga, La Blaugrana have not lost or dropped points a single time and they hope to continue that trend into the Champions League.

Beyond just the quality they have shown on the pitch, however, there is another reason to be excited about the Monaco clash. That reason would be the return of one of the team’s prodigal sons who has been in recovery and has even been away from the club in recent times.

Ahead of the game, as stated by Hansi Flick during his press conference, the Barcelona coach believes 21-year-old Ansu Fati is ready to get back into action and he has been impressive in training so far as well:

“Ansu Fati is ready to play. When he is in the field, he enjoys it a lot; he scored a lot of goals in training and we need players like him.”

With the young forward included in the official squad list, and taking into account the words stated by Hansi Flick, it seems that fans will finally get to see him back in action in the UEFA Champions League. A long-awaited return, but one that Fati will definitely have to make the most of.

Once the prodigal son who was seen as the heir to the throne left vacant by Lionel Messi, Fati has since struggled massively with injuries and consistency. This season, however, could be his golden opportunity to put up a fight for that throne again and pick up his best version again that fans of Barcelona desperately wish to see again.