Xavi upset about rumours around youngster’s future, coaches see him as a ‘franchise player’

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been a lot of speculations surrounding the future of Barcelona prodigy Ansu Fati.

The 20-year-old, regarded as the present and the future of the club, has found game-time hard to come by under Xavi Hernandez this season. While he has featured in all but one of Barcelona’s matches in all competitions this term, but has rarely been a starter.

It has given way to rumours over his future, with clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United said to be monitoring the Spanish international’s future.

Considering Barcelona’s Financial Fair Play situation, it has also been suggested that the club could listen to offers for their No. 10 in the summer.

However, according to Javi Miguel, Xavi is very upset about the rumours and speculations surrounding Fati and his future at Barcelona.

The reason behind the 43-year-old’s annoyance is that he believes that these kind of speculations can destabilise the squad as well as affect the player’s confidence and morale.

Despite his recent struggles, the report from Javi Miguel states that the Barcelona coaching staff sees Ansu Fati as a ‘franchise player’, although they acknowledge that the La Masia graduate has still a lot of room for improvement.

It is further stated at no point until today anyone from the sports department has suggested the possibility of selling Ansu at the end of the season.

Speaking to the press last week, the Barcelona manager had said the following about the youngster: “Ansu Fati is non-transferable, like everyone in the squad right now. He’s a very important player. I have tremendous hope.”

Xavi has shown that he will back a player and be patient with him in the case of Ousmane Dembele last year and is likely ready to take a similar approach with Ansu Fati.