Lamine Yamal has been the big breakout star in Spanish football in recent months. Despite having only turned 16 in July, he is a regular member of the Barcelona first team, and has started their last two matches (vs Cadiz and Villarreal).
Within Barcelona and La Masia, there is great hype surrounding Lamine, who has been likened to Lionel Messi, without doubt the biggest name to emerge from the club’s youth academy.
It’s not just Barcelona that recognise Lamine’s ability – he has also been noticed on an international level. The teenager is eligible to play for both Spain and Morocco, and according to Sport, both nations have been attempting to convince him to play for them.
During this process, Lamine has been subjected to “suffocating pressure” from the Federations of both Spain and Morocco, which is far from healthy for a youngster who has already been subjected to great expectations at Barcelona.
Lamine is expected to declare for Spain, with La Roja head coach Luis de la Fuente in line to include him in his next squad, which is announced on Friday. Signing up the Barcelona star is a major coup, but it is essential that he does not feel the weight of expectation when pulling on the famous red shirt.
