It’s quite difficult to control the hype and the noise around a young talent when they take just 13 minutes to create three goals and turn a game around – even if it was a preseason friendly.
Yet that is the job that Xavi Hernandez must undertake this season for 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, balancing it with the fact that he looks capable of unlocking defences for his side.
Yamal’s cameo was arguably the best spell of any Barcelona forward in their entire preseason, and Sport say that it has earned him a spot in the squad for their trip to Getafe this Sunday.
Xavi will be able to call on Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Ez Abde and Robert Lewandowski to fill out his front line, but clearly the Barcelona manager feels that Yamal could give him something different off the bench.
Even so, he will have to be cautious with Yamal, who would be going into a vastly different environment in a raucous away tie against Getafe. It has been seen how too much senior football for younger players can take its toll with Pedri and Fati, and Barcelona will be mindful of that before rushing him into game time.
