Lamine Yamal says that he will end up switching position at Barcelona
and playing through the middle in the same way that Lionel Messi did during his time at the club.The teenager is usually deployed down the right flank for club and country but has been usually more centrally on occasion.
Yamal was asked about playing through the middle in a new interview with El Mundo and explained why it’s inevitable he’ll switch position at some point.
“I think Leo was also marked by three players,” he explained.
“And the only place where three players can’t mark you is in the middle. There are too many players there. As time goes on, I’ll end up there, because it’s very easy to defend with three on the wings, but they can’t mark me in the middle.”
“I can take on defenders one-on-one in the middle. I’m a more decisive player if I turn in the middle than if I turn out wide. Obviously, right now I think it’s better for the team if I’m out wide. But there will come a time when I’ll be more decisive in the middle. And I’ll end up there.”
Yamal also said he already knows that he will be triple-marked in most games now as teams try to nullify his threat.
“At least three. If I’m lucky, two. But one-on-one, never, ever, ever,” he said.
“So I start thinking about plays: I talk to the full-back and tell him, ‘If I give you the ball, do this.”’ The manager tells me, ‘If you have three, there are three teammates free.’ So it’s about playing at the back, obviously, but the dribbling is all about improvising. You don’t plan it. It’s impossible.”
The Barcelona star was also asked if he sees himself still playing, like Messi, at the age of 40 but was quite clear with his response: “Impossible. Impossible. Impossible.”
