UEFA Champions League 2019/2020: Ranking the top 7 teenagers in the group stage

Club Atletico de Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League Group A
Club Atletico de Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League Group A

#6 Ansu Fati - 16 years (Barcelona)

FC Barcelona v Valencia CF - La Liga
FC Barcelona v Valencia CF - La Liga

A little over a month ago, Ansu Fati was an unknown quantity to the wider football audience, even though he had long proven himself as a potential star of the future owing to his performances in La Masia.

The Guinea-Bissaun had been pressing for more a promotion to Barcelona B to facilitate his integration into the senior team; however, an injury crisis in the attacking department of Barcelona prompted coach Ernesto Valverde to hand Fati a chance with the first team even before he had made his Barcelona B bow.

The former Sevilla youth prodigy was handed a cameo in the 5-2 victory over Real Betis on matchday 2 which made him the youngest player to represent Barcelona in a league fixture since World War II and the second youngest in history. He convinced significantly to warrant a place on the bench in Barcelona's next LaLiga fixture.

The next week, with Barcelona trailing and needing inspiration, Valverde turned to Fati, and the youngster repaid his faith by grabbing a goal within minutes of his introduction from the bench.

The game against Valencia saw him handed his first start in a Barcelona shirt, and it took less than two minutes to make further history as he became the youngest ever goalscorer at the Camp Nou, while his assist for Frenkie de Jong's first Barcelona goal saw him become the youngest player to score and assist in a single LaLiga fixture.

With Messi and Suarez' return to full fitness, Ansu Fati's impact is bound to be limited, but in just three appearances, the 16-year-old has shown that the future of Barcelona is indeed very bright if the youth can be trusted.

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