Spain manager issues Lamine Yamal warning over Barcelona rise

Spain’s national team manager Luis de la Fuente has warned Lamine Yamal not to rush the acceleration of his career after the 17-year-old rose to fame during Euro 2024.

Barcelona’s teenage sensation Yamal has been making waves in La Liga since his first-team debut in 2023, but it was his efforts at the European Championships in Germany that propelled his career onto the global stage.

He’s already registered five goals in 11 appearances during the 2024/25 campaign and is set to play an integral role in Spain’s UEFA Nations League fixtures after featuring against Serbia and Switzerland in September.

However, De la Fuente remains apprehensive on asking for too much from the young winger, warning Yamal that he must not rush his progress.

“Lamine is something different in the national team’s game,” he told Mundo Deportivo. “But we must not forget that these are very young players. He is a kid, he is 17 years old and is still in his training phase. He will have very difficult moments, in which he will be questioned.

“When you see that he has that touch – I say that he is touched by that wand of God – that he is different. They are players who at 17 years old have nothing to do with a boy of their age. They are much more mature, with a very important degree of responsibility, who interpret and accept any proposal and situation that you propose to them because they are great.

“But I have also seen some of these footballers who have fallen by the wayside. Don’t make the mistake of wanting to walk faster than you have to, you can get ruined. You have to control whether you play football very well and the thousand other details that are truly important.”

Spain are set to face Denmark in their third fixture Nations League fixture on Saturday evening, just days before they host Serbia at the Estadio Nuevo Arcangel.

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