Arsenal and Tottenham in race for Ansu Fati as Barcelona’s hands tied

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Arsenal and Tottenham are two of the teams interested in Barcelona’s Ansu Fati, according to reports. Barca may have to sell the Spanish star due to their huge debt, as well as Financial Fair Play restrictions in La Liga.

Fati has struggled for game time at Barca this season. Just seven of his league appearances have been as a starter.

Ousmane Dembele staying at the Nou Camp, as well as the arrivals of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, have seen his game time limited. He missed a large chunk of last season due to injury but has largely been fit this term.

Fati is still only 20 and doesn’t turn 21 until October this year. He is still regarded by Barca as a top player and one they are desperate to keep hold of.

But financial problems may force them into a sale they really don’t want to permit. Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claims several teams have set their sights on signing Fati this summer.

Bayern Munich are interested, as are north London rivals Arsenal and Spurs. There has been no formal offer for Fati but Barca chiefs will soon discuss whether they need to sell the starlet.

The report says in normal circumstances, Barca would never even consider letting Fati leave. However, their hands may be tied in preventing a deal.

Barca are said to be around £938million (€1.045billion) in debt. They also have the league’s FFP rules they must abide by.

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Mundo Deportivo says Barca would get a minimum of £62.7m (€70m) for Fati and points out that selling a player such as him would be the easiest way to ease their fair play problems. One reason Fati has struggled for regular minutes this season is due to the formation played by manager Xavi.

However, the Spaniard called for patience when it comes to the forward and refused to talk about a potential exit at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s match against Sevilla. Xavi said of Fati: “You have to be patient with him, things will work out for him.

“We trust him a lot. He has a tremendous mentality and he is a club asset. Patience, he needs time, this is not the time to talk about sales.”

Fati has 25 goals and nine assists in 88 career appearances for Barca. He still has four-and-a-half years remaining on his contract.

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