Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal has delighted fans with his silken skills over the first three weeks of the La Liga season, and despite his tender years, undoubtedly has been amongst the most dangerous in a Blaugrana shirt.
Yamal was brought on for brief cameos towards the end of last season, but has now broken into the Barcelona starting XI, with many suggesting he will remain with the first team for the rest of the season.
The 16-year-old is also the centre of attention for various national teams. Yamal’s mother hails from Equatorial Guinea, his father from Morocco, and he has grown up in Spain, representing their youth teams too.
Previously it has been reported that Yamal was keen on representing Morocco at senior level, but after reports last week that Luis de la Fuente was keen on locking him into Spain duty with a call-up, it now appears he will play for La Roja.
Sport say that Yamal held open meetings with Morocco Coach Walid Regragui and representatives from the Spanish RFEF, and has chosen to represent Spain.
Morocco will announce their squad list for the September internationals on Tuesday, while Spain will do the same on Friday. Regragui is already aware of Yamal’s decision, and will be in the squad for La Roja to face Georgia and Cyprus.
Yamal will no doubt be a regular in Spain squads if he continues these showings, following a match-winning performance against Villarreal. Capable not only of the final pass, but also beating his man out wide, Yamal has shown a number of attributes in short supply for La Roja, which no doubt make him an even more attractive prospect for de la Fuente.
