Liverpool is reportedly interested in a ‘special’ talent who’s only at ’60 per cent’ of
his capability, along with Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal
In November, Liverpool went top of the Premier League by two points as it beat Everton 2-0 at Anfield. At the time, it knew that, if it was to stay there for more than a couple of hours, Brighton would have to spring a surprise by getting something away to Manchester City.
The game looked like a foregone conclusion when City went 2-0 up inside the first 20 minutes, but Ansu Fati then came off the bench to score with around 15 minutes of normal time remaining and the host had to hang on. When the final whistle went, there was a feeling of immense relief around the Etihad Stadium.
Obviously you have to suffer against Brighton,” Pep Guardiola said afterward (via Football 365). “I would say that Brighton make it difficult for all the teams, not just us. You cannot control Brighton for 90 minutes, especially when Ansu Fati came in and [Kaoru] Mitoma moved more inside.”
Fati may not have started the game, but his goalscoring cameo no doubt caught the attention of City’s rivals. According to a report from Football Transfers at the time, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are all showing an interest in the 21-year-old, who joined on a season-long loan from Barcelona in one of the biggest surprises of the summer.
Now, according to Fichajes, Liverpool is weighing up a move for Fati at the end of the season. At that point, his loan spell with Brighton will be over and Barcelona would be willing to cash in.
This was a player who made one of the most spectacular breakthroughs in recent football history in 2019, becoming Barcelona’s youngest-ever goalscorer and the youngest player to net in the Champions League too. He inherited the number 10 shirt from Lionel Messi, and appeared the natural heir to the greatest player of all time.
But then injury struck — Fati was out for 10 months after tearing his meniscus in November 2020, and he subsequently missed a further 31 games the following season. While he did feature in 36 of Barcelona’s 38 league games last term, two-thirds of his appearances.