It seems that after 14 years at Barcelona, Ansu Fati will seal a permanent exit from the club this summer. The 23-year-old has spent two of the last three seasons out on loan at Brighton and Hove Albion, and then AS Monaco, but it looks as if neither spell will lead to a spot in Barcelona’s long-term plans.
Fati spent Hansi Flick’s first year at the club featuring infrequently, and after growing frustrated at a lack of opportunities, sealed a loan move to AS Monaco last summer. His plan was to stage a return to Barcelona, and amid uncertainty over Marcus Rashford’s future, Fati was keeping the door open to a return as Barcelona’s back-up left-sided forward or number nine. Yet the arrival of Anthony Gordon has shut the door on that possibility.
Ansu Fati to seal permanent move to AS Monaco
As per MD, Fati’s hopes of returning to Camp Nou have been ended by Gordon’s arrival, and now AS Monaco will look to make his move permanent. Unless there is a U-turn, Fati is expected to accept it. The French side have an €11m buy option on Fati, but will ask him to lower his salary significantly, or look to negotiate the price down with Barcelona. Currently Fati has two years left on his deal at Barcelona.
Fati’s return to action in Ligue 1
Although it was far from a resounding success, Fati’s year in Ligue 1 is probably his best season in some time. He managed just 1,320 minutes, but only missed nine games through injury, and registered 12 goals in 30 appearances. Such are the scale of his injury issues, it represents the second-highest number of minutes he has had in a season, and the most goals he has ever scored in a season.
