Barcelona may very well have another La Masia gem on their hands as Xavi Espart has impressed since making his senior debut, and his coach is one of his biggest fans.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Hansi Flick was full of praise for Espart and indicated that he might start again in Sunday’s La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano. Flick is impressed with Espart’s confidence and how unfazed he was by the occasion of playing two of his first three games in a huge environment such as the Champions
League knockout stages, and the coach thinks there’s more to come from young Xavi.
“Xavi Espart has a lot of confidence. It’s incredible that at 18 years old he’s already played two Champions League matches and his level in La Liga… He needs the right attitude and mentality. For tomorrow, he’s a good option for us.”
Flick certainly turned some heads when he compared Espart to German legend Philipp Lahm a couple of weeks ago, but it’s easy to see why Hansi was so excited about Xavi. The 18-year-old has remarkable poise and confidence for his age, which is especially important when playing as a defender in such a high-risk system such as Flick’s.
Espart has been very solid in every aspect of the game so far except for one mental mistake that led to a Sevilla goal last week, but even his lack of height doesn’t seem to be an issue as he makes up for it with tremendous intensity and defensive competitiveness.
There has been plenty of evidence to suggest Espart has a real future with the first team, and it looks like he’ll get yet another chance to impress from the start against Rayo. One to watch, for sure.
