Ansu Fati Scouting Report

You could say that Barcelona is at a bit of a crossroad in 2020.

Well, that’s the nice way to put it.

However, like there is a rainbow after every storm, after this complete clusterfuck of the last two years, Barca have Ansu Fati.

Player Profile

Name: Ansu Fati

Age: 17 (Born 2002)

Position: Inside forward/winger

Club: Barcelona

Rookie Year: 19/20 Season

What’s The Deal With Ansu Fati?

Before I get too far into the weeds here. Let me start with this…. Ansu Fati is one of the best teenagers in world soccer today. Arguably the best depending on who you ask.

Granted, a few superstars like Erling Haaland recently turned 20, but my point still stands.

A right-footer that hangs on the left wing cutting in, Fati is already a Spanish international at 17, and in the early games of the 20/21 season is looking like one of Barca’s main men.

Funny story about this… In Barca’s second match of this season (20/21 season), Ansu Fati basically won the mach by himself, but couldn’t get the man of the match award because it’s sponsored by Budweiser, and Fati is under the legal drinking age.

One thing you notice when you see Ansu Fati play is just how active he is in the final third.

One statistic I like to look for when looking at soccer card investments is touches in the penalty box. If you’re a player active in the penalty box, you’re going to get opportunities for goals and assists. Last season, Ansu Fati had 73 touches in the penalty box, at an average of 5.93 per 90. Which, puts him towards the very top on teenagers in the top five European leagues.

And he doesn’t only rank well against others his own age, Fati’s touches in the penalty box per 90 is to twenty for all players in the top five leagues in Europe. This is outstanding for someone of his age.

Most of the time, when in the Penalty box, Fati is either looking to lay off for a deep completion, which he had about 25 of last season, or he’s looking to test the goalkeeper out.

When you look at teenagers in the top five European leagues, Ansu Fati had the highest per 90 average, at 2.76 shots a game last season.

From his 33 shots, 25 were from inside the box. So, from his 73 touches inside the box last season, about a third of them were shots.

However, from his 33 shots, he only had an xg of 3.26, which to me, means he has even more room to improve as he works shots from better scoring positions.

I think he’s definitely got that ability too because a strength of his is his movement off the ball. He creates so many chances for himself and others by the runs he creates off the ball. Check out a recent goal of his that was 100% his off-ball movement that created that chance for himself.

As far as weaknesses go, his main one would be crossing. Which, for someone who plays out wide is an important attacking weapon.

Now, a part of this is that Fait is a right footer that plays on the left, which means he’s hardly ever in a position to cross comfortably.

A lot of the time he has to cut in and run towards goal and try to force a cross on his right foot. This buys time for defenders to track back.

In this example below what could have been a testing cross to a 1-on-1 situation turned into seven defenders in the box waiting for a cross.

Fati may potentially improve his crossing with consistent game on the right-hand side. However, his ability cut in and come at defenders is outstanding in every other aspect besides crossing, so I think he’s likely to stay out on the right for now.

All in all though, that is a pretty minor setback, as it’s not like Barca are a heavy crossing team looking to hit the head of the big center forward.

What’s Next for Ansu Fati

World domination.

Kidding. Sort of.

Ansu Fati is already an established Barca first team player and is on track to be one of their best players going forward for this season and beyond.

And he has recently been starting (and scoring) for the Spanish national team too, which is very exciting going forward. I actually kinda expect him to push for a spot in the Euro squad next season.

On a side note, it’s a funny thing with the 2020 Euros. There were so many great young players that probably weren’t ready to make their national team squads if the competition was this year. However, with another season to improve, many will be banging the door down for selection.

In the future, it will be interesting how Barca build around Fati going forward as it looks like Lionel Messi will leave after this season.

Either way though, the world is absolutely this guy’s oyster.

Ansu Fati for Collectors and Investors

When it comes to collectors, Fati kind of has it all.

• Attacking position

• Creates chances and scores goals

• Gets regular game time

• Plays for a big club

• Is on a top national team and likely to play in major tournaments

A lot of the time, we look towards young guys playing in smaller leagues that could be good one day. And while I still strongly think that’s a valid strategy, there’s a lot to be said about a player who starts at a big club.

A lot of the time, one wayward transfer can completely de-rail a career. Moving to the wrong big club or moving too soon can have you treading water for a few seasons. Then, instead of being the 20-year-old prospect, you’re the 25-year-old taking a sideways or backwards move in order to restore some value and form.

Fati has the benefit of starting at Barca. That means he’s already got that top club billing.

That alone makes him a top prospect for soccer collectors and investors.

On top of that, his prices are pretty reasonable when you compare him to other tier one prospects in the game.

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