When this story first appeared in the January transfer window, many – including me- were sceptical about West Ham’s serious intent to bring Barcelona’s 22 year old former whizzkid to East London. ( C and H, “Nou Camp wonderkid on West Ham’s radar”). Especially when said ‘former whizzkid’ was once valued at £80 million plus.
However the story resurfaced earlier this week with news from Barcelona that their head coach Hansi Flick is adamant that he has no future planned for former Manchester United – linked prodigy Ansu Fati.
From donbalon.com came the article claiming that : “The attacker could leave definitively in the summer and his destination could be, again, in the Premier League, with West Ham in pole position… The English team has been the team that has been most interested in Ansu for a long time and it seems that this time it could be the definitive one.
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The footballer has had offers from clubs such as Sevilla or Manchester United, but the Spaniard could have opted for West Ham. Laporta [ FC Barca’s President] has already held meetings in London with English leaders and his departure could be a reality in the coming months.”
Fati had a previous loan spell in the Premier League in 2023-4 with Brighton and Hove Albion which was not the most successful.
The report confirms Barcelona would be happy with a loan deal plus low priced mandatory purchase at the end of the deal – the player’s value has nosedived after young promise and could be as low as £10 million, listed today on transfermarkt.com for less than half that.
Young, fast, gifted, undoubtedly a very West Ham friendly-type deal ‘sign now pay next season and defer costs’ similar to the ‘Jean-Clair Todibo’ route but without the massive payout next summer.
West Ham could well be about to grab a bargain for less than the fee generated from Luis Guilherme’s sale in the summer. The only problem would be Fati’s wages which were enormous at the Nou Camp, but the player does seem to accept now that he’s dropped down the pecking order and needs a career ‘reset’- which could be to Potter’s advantage heading into June.
Id’ be genuinely excited if this story starts to gain traction.