Eddie Howe has spoken after Barcelona star Lamine Yamal emerged as a doubt for their Champions League trip to Newcastle United on Thursday.
Yamal could miss Newcastle United vs Barcelona with a groin injury, with head coach Hansi Flick unhappy with the Spanish international team.
Indeed, the Barca boss is of the belief that La Roja didn’t need to play Yamal quite as often as they did during the international break considering he was already carrying a slight knock.
It’s difficult to know what to make of Yamal missing the game.
Clearly, not having arguably the best player in the world to deal with makes it a slightly easier game but the whole point of the Champions League is to test yourself against the elite of the football world.
The Newcastle United manager certainly appeared to share that view.
Eddie Howe looks on before a Newcastle United game.
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Eddie Howe delivers verdict on Lamine Yamal injury
Howe was speaking at a post-match press conference after Newcastle beat Wolves 1-0 to get their Premier League season up and running.
It was a vitally important victory for the side and, naturally, Howe was talking about the game and Nick Woltemade’s debut goal for Newcastle United.
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It was then put to him that Yamal might miss the game on Tyneside.
In response, Howe said: “Whenever I get asked about these types of questions, I think my answer is always the same.
“You want to play the best teams, you want to play against the best players, you want to challenge yourselves as much as you can.”
“Saying that, you also want to win, so we’ll take whoever they play. We know they’ve got world class players in all the positions, so it’s irrelevant to a degree, but obviously I understand the question.”
Who could replace Lamine Yamal for Barcelona in Newcastle United clash
Barca have a lot of options to replace the 18-year-old if he were to miss the game.
The Catalan giants signed Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United this summer and he impressed for England against Serbia, so perhaps he will feature from the start.
Ferran Torres is another option for Flick, so it’s not as if Barca will suddenly be left short.
Still, not having a player like Yamal available would be a blow for any team in the world, such is the rarity of his talent.