Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly interested in signing Barcelona’s faded prodigy Ansu Fati in January.
The Spain international exploded onto the European stage as a fleet-footed teenager, toppling a pile of age-related records for Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Fati remains the youngest goalscorer in Champions League history, finding the net for the Catalan giants against Inter in 2019 barely a month on from his 17th birthday.
Mourinho doesn’t have a strong reputation for promoting youth but is very keen on bringing Fati to Fenerbahce, according to the Spanish publication AS. The Barcelona winger will turn 22 at the end of October and has been riddled with injuries since tearing his meniscus in November 2020.
Fenerbahce pulled off the coup of signing Mourinho over the summer. The outspoken Portuguese coach supposedly wanted to secure a deal for Fati during his first transfer window, and is adamant that a loan agreement is struck in January.
Fati spent last season on loan at Brighton. After a bright beginning brought two goals from his first five Premier League appearances, the versatile forward lost his place in the starting XI initially to a calf injury. Even after returning to full fitness, Fati couldn’t convince Roberto De Zerbi to afford him more than a handful of cameos.
Minutes have been hard to come by now that he is back in Barcelona. Hansi Flick is yet to start Fati this season, giving the left winger less than an hour of combined minutes.
Mourinho is also interested in Fati’s Spanish compatriot, Sergio Reguilon. The former Sevilla and Real Madrid left-back moved to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of around £25m in September 2020 when Mourinho was in charge of the capital club. Reguilon remains on the club’s books but hasn’t made an appearance for Spurs since April 2022, bouncing between loan spells at Atletico Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford.
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