Lamine yamal: Not at his best — Spain coach defies Barcelona fans

The Spanish national team head coach, Luis De La Fuente, highlighted the significant growth Lamine Yamal has experienced since making his debut for La Roja, emphasising that the 18-year-old is assuming increased responsibilities for the four-time European champions.

Rodri might be the Ballon d’Or winner, and his return has no doubt raised the ceiling of the Red Fury; however, Yamal is the undisputed star and the difference-maker for De La Fuente's squad. 

Quizzed about the teenager’s performance level, he lauded the Rocafonda-native’s brilliance and guile, but he insisted that Yamal was far from his best level.

"He is a much better footballer than he was two years ago, but still not as good as he is going to be in another two," De la Fuente said, per Goal. 

"He is maturing a lot; his contribution is greater every day; he has that very attractive touch for the rest of his teammates in the sense that he captures everyone's attention, and every day he has more weight in the team being so young. 

“Now, I think he still has a long way to go, and his best version is yet to arrive. His physical condition? He is fantastic, very fast, resistant... He is in one of the best moments of the season and of his short career."

Despite the prestige that comes with being an international, especially for a country like Spain, the reality of the breathless football calendar has meant that fans of football clubs are increasingly wary of their stars having significant involvement during international duty.

This is the case with Yamal, whose superstar status and game-winning quality have made him a constant fixture for Spain, to the chagrin of Barcelona fans.

Unforgiving about Gavi’s unfortunate ACL injury while playing for Spain and the exacerbation of Lamine Yamal’s pubalgia on international duty, De La Fuente has endured criticism from Barcelona fans.

However, he continues to insist that they make efforts to protect all their players, adding that the national team staff will continue to field their best players.

"I don't know what I have to take into account. I have to take into account the responsibility I have to bring out a team to win.”

"I think it's great that they are from Barca and that they have their little heart. But I think about my team. In the same way that I am empathetic, I ask that they be with me.

“Barca players run as much risk as those of Madrid, Atletico... Football has these things. The fact that there are seven Barca players here is very good news for them and for Spanish football."