Ansu Fati has been named in the Barcelona squad for Thursday's Champions League game against Monaco, with the attacker in line to make his first appearance for the club since August 2023.
The 21-year-old made the breakthrough into the Barcelona first team in 2019, and he has represented the Catalan giants on 112 occasions, scoring 29 goals and registering 10 assists in the process.
Fati scored 10 times in all competitions at club level in 2022-23 and was then involved in the early stages of last season, but he joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan before the end of last summer's transfer window.
The forward was restricted to 27 appearances for the Seagulls due to injury issues, only managing to contribute four goals and one assist, before he returned to Camp Nou over the summer.
Fati has not yet played this season due to a foot injury which he suffered in the latter stages of July, but the Spain international has now overcome the problem and has been named in the squad for his side's opening match of the 2024-25 Champions League against Monaco.
© Imago
Fati returns to Barcelona squad for Monaco clash
Fati has not played for Barcelona in the Champions League since November 2022, while his last appearance for the club was in La Liga in August 2023.
There had been speculation surrounding the forward's future over the summer, but his foot injury ended any chance of him leaving before the transfer deadline.
However, new head coach Hansi Flick is believed to have made it clear to Fati that he was in his plans for the coming season, as the attacker looks to put his injury problems behind him.
Barcelona currently have a long list of absentees, with Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Marc Bernal, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen all unavailable for selection.
© Imago
Barcelona have made a 100% start to the new season
There was huge criticism of Barcelona's decision to sack Xavi and replace him with Flick, but the German manager has overseen a hugely impressive start to the new season.
Indeed, the Catalan giants have won all five of their La Liga matches against Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Rayo Vallecano, Real Valladolid and Girona to sit at the top of the table on 15 points.
Barcelona put seven past Real Valladolid before the international break and then beat Girona 4-1 on their return to action, with Lamine Yamal scoring twice in another excellent performance.
However, Olmo was forced off in the second half of the league affair, and he will now be missing for around five weeks due to a hamstring problem, with the injuries piling up for the club early in the season.
Barcelona squad vs. Monaco:
Ter Stegen, Pena, Astralaga; Fort, Cubarsi, Balde, S Dominguez, A Cuenca, Kounde, E Garcia, G Martin, I Martinez; Pedri, Torre, Guillermo, Casado; F Torres, Lewandowski, Fati, Raphinha, Victor, Yamal, T Fernandez
Matt Law
