“Ansu Fati is ready to play”, Roberto De Zerbi

The 20-year-old moved to Brighton from Barcelona on a year-long loan move

Ansu Fati was projected to be Barcelona’s next leading man; he was supposed to be the face of the Blaugranas. He succeeded Lionel Messi’s number 10 shirt at the Camp Nou, and was set up to carry the legacy of trailblazing Barca forwards into the future.

This is why, when his year-long loan move to Brighton was sanctioned, it was viewed as a drastic rescinding of a vote of confidence in him. 

Ansu Fati had fallen down the pecking order at Camp Nou, and with the arrival of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix, they needed to clear some space in their roster.

The 20-year-old touted as a generational talent, he has played a cumulative 47 minutes of top-flight football for Barcelona. Many have opined that a move to Brighton might be beneficial for him, as he is more likely to have a central role at the Amex stadium, and is bound to get more playtime.

It is being reported that he might feature for the Seagulls as early tomorrow against Manchester United as the Premier League is set to restart after the international break.

Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi said: “I don’t know if the beginning of the game or during the game in the second half but he is ready to play

“Logically it is difficult at the beginning after one week, after three or four training sessions, to understand everything.

“I would like to give him time to understand, to come inside.

“But first of all I want him to enjoy it, to show his quality.

“I told him, ‘I want to enjoy watching your ability’ and I don’t want to put any pressure on Ansu.”

Ansu appeared as a 75th-minute substitute for Barca when they lost 2-1 at Old Trafford in the Europa League last season.