Ansu Fati

[wrd]

I don't think Gil will play for us again tbh, and Perisic will almost certainly leave next summer. Those aren't reasons to not take a punt on Fati.

Why don't you think Gil will play for us again?

 

[Marty]

Why don't you think Gil will play for us again?

Because it looked like we were seriously trying to offload him before he picked up his current injury.

Now that he'll probably stay until at least January he might, perhaps, get a cameo or two so I probably went a bit far with "never play for us again". But I don't think he has a long term future here.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

I'd hate to see Perisic go. I think he's really important for what we're trying to do.

He's not long term though, hell he's not even medium term. Realistically he's gone after this season. So we may as well plan ahead long term. We need to sign the right player to replace him though.

 

[AJW]

Because it looked like we were seriously trying to offload him before he picked up his current injury.

Now that he'll probably stay until at least January he might, perhaps, get a cameo or two so I probably went a bit far with "never play for us again". But I don't think he has a long term future here.

Everything I’ve read also suggests he is very home sick and wants to move back to Spain permanently.

 

[YiddoTHFC]

I hope there is either an option or obligation to buy in this otherwise I don’t want it to happen, as a club we shouldn’t be taking players on loan to develop them for Barcelona.

 

[Aay_Jay_Dee]

I hope there is either an option or obligation to buy in this otherwise I don’t want it to happen, as a club we shouldn’t be taking players on loan to develop them for Barcelona.

Not obligation - purely an option. He could be crocked within 5 games

 

[gavspur]

We’ve got Fati
Aaaansu Faaaattiii
I just don’t think you understand
He’s only got one knee
He’s better than Messi
We’ve got Ansu Fati

 

[Russ1201]

I think Fati will be this seasons Dybala, Bastoni etc type deal. The usual we are close bullshit when deep down there is no real intention to sign him.
I think Johnson will be our only signing and a few outs.
Levy's dream transfer window lots of outs, lots of profit from Kane sales and lots of salaries reduced in expenditure.

 

[Whazam]

Last season was his first full season post injury. He got 10 goals and 4 assists across 52 games but im not even sure he finished a full 90 once? (Someone should double check tho as not 100% sure on it) he would often be a sub or come off around the 70th min when starting. I think one must realise he was never going to just get fit and start tearing it up. It was always going to take him time plus one needs to factor in Barca and where they are as a club atm. I wouldn’t say he had a good season from what I saw, on the whole he showed glimpses of his old self but was largely ineffectual.

I would say tho that this is where it’s worth listening to Barca fans. Many say that towards the tail end of the season he started to look more like his old self. Even now I think there is a bit of a split with many thinking he just needs time and shouldn’t be sold. There’s still a belief by some that he’s the future of the club. I know he’s had a few sub appearances this season but i haven’t watched Barca yet so can’t say how well he’s done, no goals or assist tho.

This table from The Athletic is from January 2023, so I guess before he started to look more like his old self (according to the Barca fans you're referencing). It seems as if he only played the full 90 once up until then.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

So you obviously have the injury issues with Fati and the fact he is visibly slower than he used to be but if we set them aside and just look at his actual game, I just don't see how he fits with the way we are playing unless he is striker.

He is excellent at 1-2 combos in central areas, good shot on him and he's a good finisher. He does not hold the width though, he drifts inside constantly. We are 4 matches in and by now we can all see the way Ange deploys his wing forwards. They hold the width and he wants them to take people on out wide. We are already having big issues with this because Son and Deki are struggling to do that and keep cutting back inside.

Fati won't solve this problem in any way. He cuts inside every single time and looks to combine. He doesn't take people on anymore and to be honest even at his best he was never a 2 way dribbling master. He's more about silky touches, explosive movement and creativity in and around the box but I repeat he was never a player who held the width and would take his man on the outside. He is very much an inside forward, who needs a wide, overlapping fullback outside him to utilise his skillset imo.

With the way we play, if he is deployed as a left winger he and we will struggle massively and he can't play on the right either as he isn't a touchline player. Playing him on the left will basically congest all of the inside left space where Maddison and Udogie have been combining so well and we will have no width on the left. It won't solve any of the issues we are currently having with our wide players being unable to beat their man 1 on 1 and get to the byline. Fati wasn't even that good at this when he was at his best let alone now he has lot his explosiveness.

I would much rather sign Brennan Johnson and I wasn't particularly keen on that but he makes a lot more sense as he can play wider and has the pace and durability for the PL. Signing both makes no sense either as we'd have signed 2 players and yet still would have failed to bring in a single player who can actually take people on out wide in a proper 1 on 1 sense.

Watching the game yesterday did get me wondering. When we brought on Scarlett at half time we essentially swapped to a sort of 442 in attack. Did make we wonder if this is something Ange may try again and if so then Fati would work well in the second striker role. As would Son obv. Personally I think that is the position he will develop into anyway now that he’s less keen to go 1v1 especially when on the byline. But in general I agree re his game.

Personally I fined neither Johnson or Fati are players who I think are most needed for the system in regards to skill set or rather there are others I’d be looking at first. I also think we are overloading the WF areas and I’m not even sure how much of Solomon we are going to see in his preferred position. I’m also not entirely sure Son will be adapt into the CF role.

Idk, does feel like there might be a bit of spread betting going on with bringing in Solomon, Fati and Johnson. If it works out we are golden for a good number of years tho.

 

[Led Revolver]

If we go for this deal I think Gil is definitely out and wouldn’t be shocked to see Perisic leave too. Think it would be:

LW: Fati, Solomon
ST: Son, Richarlison
RW: Kulusevski, Johnson

Or..

Number 10: Maddison, Kulusevski
LW: Fati, Perisic
ST: Son, Richarlison
RW: Johnson, Solomon

Bags of durability with that set of 8 players, too.

I actually think Gil needs another loan - ideally PL this time, and that Lo Celso is more likely to move rather than Perisic, as things stand currently. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the Saudi’s offer Perisic a huge contract though.

 

[Thenewcat]

The good news is Fati has played 112 times for Barcelona by the age of 20. The bad news is he has played the whole 90 4 times

 

[y1dk1d]

As long as it’s as well as Brennan, I think this could be exciting. If Fati could get back to his best, him on the left, Son through the middle and Johnson on the right is such a dynamic attack. Then you’ve got options like Richy, Kulu, Solomon and even Perisic on the bench. Would guess it would see the end of Gil which would be a shame but that’s a lot of options to keep happy

 

[y1dk1d]

As long as it’s as well as Brennan, I think this could be exciting. If Fati could get back to his best, him on the left, Son through the middle and Johnson on the right is such a dynamic attack. Then you’ve got options like Richy, Kulu, Solomon and even Perisic on the bench. Would guess it would see the end of Gil which would be a shame but that’s a lot of options to keep happy

Could even see Kulu come in as the rotational option for Maddison too, which could mean Lo Celso is expendable, which again might help get the Fati deal done

 

[Ghost Hardware]

View attachment 131370
This table from The Athletic is from January 2023, so I guess before he started to look more like his old self (according to the Barca fans you're referencing). It seems as if he only played the full 90 once up until then.

Yeah that looks about right. Kind of shows how he’s adapting his style of play to utilities the aspects of his game that aren’t dependent on agility and speed. Personally I don’t think he will ever be the same player he was but I do think he could still develop into a fantastic player as he wasn’t just a fast tricky winger. Still as I’ve said since he was first linked, I have many reservations.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Has anybody got a link to specific details of his injury that lead to people thinking he's done? There's been a staggering amount of movement in injury rehabilitation recently that I want to understand why a 20 year old can't, at the very least, find a way to adapt.

Easier to watch this. Will give you a pretty good overview of what happened and how he changed since

 

[snakehipsspurs]

Could even see Kulu come in as the rotational option for Maddison too, which could mean Lo Celso is expendable, which again might help get the Fati deal done

This is what I think is going to happen. It's clear Deki isn't 100% suited to the flanks in Ange's system, but he could be a devastating number 8 alongside/deputising for Maddison.

Some combination of Fati on loan with reduced option/obligation and Lo Celso on loan to Barca with obligation makes a lot of sense for both sides. If we can absorb a chunk of the salaries too it would allow Barca room in FFP to go for Joao Felix. Everyone's a winner.

 

[Khilari]

If we can secure either Fati or someone with similar attributes (e.g. Johnson), it would give us fantastic options to threaten teams with. Someone with pace (albeit not as devastating as a teenager) with great dribbling skills (albeit not as previously hailed the successor to Messi) and on a loan with an option to buy would be great business.

I find it odd that Spurs fans would take issue with him. We are not dining at the top table, finished 8th and are transitioning into a team that plays possession based football to unlock teams. I don’t understand the criticisms of players like Fati as a reason fans would not want him at Spurs. The only issue surely would be whether he can maintain fitness - but isn’t that for our scouts and medical team to make a decision on?

Fati would be an improvement to our squad depth and would be a player ready to challenge for a first XI spot.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

If we can secure either Fati or someone with similar attributes (e.g. Johnson), it would give us fantastic options to threaten teams with. Someone with pace (albeit not as devastating as a teenager) with great dribbling skills (albeit not as previously hailed the successor to Messi) and on a loan with an option to buy would be great business.

I find it odd that Spurs fans would take issue with him. We are not dining at the top table, finished 8th and are transitioning into a team that plays possession based football to unlock teams. I don’t understand the criticisms of players like Fati as a reason fans would not want him at Spurs. The only issue surely would be whether he can maintain fitness - but isn’t that for our scouts and medical team to make a decision on?

Fati would be an improvement to our squad depth and would be a player ready to challenge for a first XI spot.

Because we just got 100 million fucking pounds for our greatest ever player and our subsequent attacking signing could potentially be a winger on loan. If it is just him and not Johnson as well (who has at least played at PL-level), that is barbaric.

 

[SG7]

Ridiculous. How many left-wingers do we need? We already have Son, Perisic and Solomon competing for this position in the 11, the competition is brutal enough as is.

If we're going to sign any wingers, it should be a left-footed one who plays on the right.