19 - Lamine Yamal

[Porque]

If he had pace, he'd be an Mbappe level wonderkid. As a winger, that pace and acceleration gives you that X Factor needed to be a main man and the best in the world potentially. Mbappe had it in spades at Monaco. Messi had that phenomenal acceleration in his young days. Ronaldo had that raw pace. Neymar did too.


Yamal's dribbling is brilliant and his best quality is his agility, balance and flexibility. If he gains weight or muscles, his agility and proprioception will go down. Currently, he reminds me a bit of Mahrez in terms of playing style. Mahrez obviously was a lot more 2 footed naturally.


Lacks the explosive nature and chaotic unpredictability of Dembele's game. He's much smarter than Dembele though. He manipulates the ball brilliantly with his first touch, sudden movements and the weight of his consequent touches on the ball. Yamal definitely isn't a natural finisher/goalscorer though unlike an Ansu Fati for example.

He is not slow though, but I get you. When he goes past his man he can continue the attack and usually they don't catch up. Just that he slows things down due to lack of support.

UEFA.com has his top speed at 32,8km/h, which is slower than both Joao Felix and Pedri

But then they also have Kounde at 33.6, and he was around 31 last season iirc. So it is something that will go up as he is just 16. But never Mbappe or Adeyemi territory obviously.

 

[Horatio]

He is not slow though, but I get you. When he goes past his man he can continue the attack and usually they don't catch up. Just that he slows things down due to lack of support.

UEFA.com has his top speed at 32,8km/h, which is slower than both Joao Felix and Pedri

But then they also have Kounde at 33.6, and he was around 31 last season iirc. So it is something that will go up as he is just 16. But never Mbappe or Adeyemi territory obviously.

Tempt is right imo. Lamine is just a bit shy of pace for a winger to have all clubs in it for him. Even in game yesterday you could tell some napoli players can catch up with him fairly easy. Yamal also resorts to his acceleration at times to win space. He’s very smart that way.

He can be tremendous for barca though. The maturity he is showing at that age is ridiculous. Love him.

 

[Porque]

Tempt is right imo. Lamine is just a bit shy of pace for a winger to have all clubs in it for him. Even in game yesterday you could tell some napoli players can catch up with him fairly easy. Yamal also resorts to his acceleration at times to win space. He’s very smart that way.

He can be tremendous for barca though. The maturity he is showing at that age is ridiculous. Love him.

He is basically our Kvaratskhelia.

 

[behindbrowneyes]

Shouldn't really care about his pace as he compensates it pretty well with technique. Biggest room for improvement is his finishing and this can actually be trained. Developing trust in his right foot too to shoot if the situation requires it and he'll become a very dangerous player.

 

[Horatio]

He is basically our Kvaratskhelia.

Haven’t watched him much to be honest but lamine seems more talented. In technique and reading the game. Georgia has 6 years on lamine as well.

 

[Temptation]

He is not slow though, but I get you. When he goes past his man he can continue the attack and usually they don't catch up. Just that he slows things down due to lack of support.

UEFA.com has his top speed at 32,8km/h, which is slower than both Joao Felix and Pedri

But then they also have Kounde at 33.6, and he was around 31 last season iirc. So it is something that will go up as he is just 16. But never Mbappe or Adeyemi territory obviously.

He has average pace and acceleration.


He looks quick at times because of his agility- he has a remarkable ability to change directions on a dime and stop-start. Combine that with his proprioception and clever manipulation of the ball and it's tough for most opponents to catch him.

 

[Horatio]

btw the pedri stat is surprising. I think that must have been clocked before his last major injury. Pedri looks hella slow on the ball and is easily containted by opponents. Lamine actually looks decen when running with ball.

Or maybe pedri is that fast first 5 min of the game dunno. Not known for having great stamina.

 

[Jaguar]

He surely isn’t Mbappe or Dembele type of quick but he definitely aint slow imo.

Agreed. He more a Neymar type of quick though which is more than enough and he goes past defenders with ease constantly.

 

[Barcaman]

Neymar was hella fast during prime.

2x Hella


Yeah, speed could be an issue. Key is to play him more up the pitch. Sort of like 2nd forward. When Gavi, Pedri get back and one will play more on the left that will be possible.

 

[Temptation]

Agreed. He more a Neymar type of quick though which is more than enough and he goes past defenders with ease constantly.

Young Neymar was definitely quicker than him.

 

[Horatio]

2x Hella

I actually deleted post as I looked up his top speed and it fell shorter than I expected. Fifa games made him look faster.

But was definitely faster than lamine.

 

[Andresito]

What about Messi?

 

[jamrock]

I agree with those who say, if he had a bit more pace, he'd be the next best player in the world unless some other unreal talent pops up somewhere in the world.

But he isn't slow and his finishing will Improve with time, he isn't a natural finisher, but he can pull off some worldies which I like.

The kid has everything to be a Salah level winger, can't ask for more than that.

We just need to get a time machine to avoid fati ever getting Injured and we are in business.

Or maybe we just buy a left winger, whichever is easier

 

[M3ls]

Messi? Hah, don't be ridiculous. Messi was 5 times faster than him both in terms of speed and acceleration.

 

[Porque]

It ain't a fair fight against those early 2000s Catalan farmers.