Time for Barcelona to unleash Lamine! Wonderkid Yamal can save Xavi's job if given the chance to shine

If there were any doubts about Yamal's potential to be a regular starter in Catalunya, they were swiftly erased in early August. The teenager entered Barca's clash with Tottenham in the Joan Gamper Trophy with 15 minutes remaining and his side losing 2-1 as the Blaugrana turned in the kind of ominous showing that raised questions over Xavi's ability to fire the defending champions up for another title challenge.

In a brief cameo, Yamal offered hope. He assisted Torres for the equaliser, before starting the moves for Barca's third and fourth goals in their comeback win. Yes, this was a glorified friendly between two sides still not yet in the full swing of things, but Yamal proved that he belonged.

The Catalan press, in typically measured fashion, started the hype. In a twist of immense promise and damning expectation, it just so happened that a certain Lionel Messi had enjoyed a similarly electric showing, at the same stadium, in the same rather meaningless game, 18 years previously.

SPORTencapsulated the hysteria most effectively in their live blog of the game, claiming that: "since Leo Messi against Juventus in his first Gamper, nothing like him has been seen."

Madness grew from there. Xavi tried to stifle some of the talk around his teenage starlet's performances, but the noise around Yamal multiplied. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente compared him to both Messi and Diego Maradona in a 10-second statement, while former Barca stalwart Rafa Marquez, in his infinite wisdom, likened Yamal to Ronaldinho.

Xavi, though, has done his part in tempering such lofty comparisons. In October, he tried to cool the relentless chatter, saying: "I hope Lamine can mark an era [in football], but we are not doing him any favours saying that... Let's see what the future holds without comparing him with Messi. It's not gone that well for all the players that have been compared with Messi in the past."

The manager has backed that up by curtailing the teenager's minutes. Yamal has been in the staring line-up for just 11 of a possible 28 games in all competitions, and has the same number of league starts as the oft-injured Raphinha. Torres, a player who is less effective out wide than he is centrally, has started three games on the right-wing while Yamal has been fit — leaving the promising youngster to watch from the bench.

It has, undoubtedly, been a point of frustration for Barca fans. But for Xavi, the man charged with maintaining the legs of a player who hasn't played a full season of professional football, it seemed the right solution. He has already lost Gavi, still 19, to a torn ACL, while 21-year-old Pedri can barely string a couple of months together without getting hurt. The Barca coach simply cannot have another overused young talent miss chunks of the season through injury.

But as the results have soured, and Barca's performances have dropped off, Yamal's positive influence has become clearer. On Sunday against Betis, Xavi handed the winger his first La Liga start since November 25, and Barca were better for it. Yamal created three chances, completed five dribbles, and grabbed himself an assist as the Blaugrana turned it on in the dying minutes to win 4-2.

That is no new trend, though. Yamal has been an impact substitute for months — offering a series of valuable cameos to give Barca an injection of quality in the dying phases of games. It's something his manager has noticed, too.

“I would ask Lamine to do more of the same: play with courage, confidence, show his talent and quality. He is young but he won’t feel the weight of the occasion because he has enough confidence to make a difference in a game like this, even as a teenager," Xavi said last week.

He did just that in Barca unsuccessful showing in the Spanish Supercopa final. Barca were dire for an hour against Real Madrid, and only really improved when Yamal entered the fray. He teased Ferland Mendy, found neat angles to feed Robert Lewandowski, and linked up well with Ilkay Gundogan. His team may have been on the wrong end of the result, but that was no fault of the teenager's.

Yamal's emergence has come at the right time, too, as Barca have a real Lewandowski problem. The Poland striker, the architect of last season's La Liga success, has seen his goals plummet. He has scored just eight times in 18 league appearances this season, a significant drop off from the 23 he bagged last term.

Look more broadly, and things get even more concerning. Lewandowski bagged 18 goals in 37 league appearances in 2023 — averaging just under a goal ever other game. In his last three campaigns at Bayern Munich, he was bagging at least one per game. His goals-to-expected-goals ratio, minus 1.6, is his worst in years. Add the fact that he's 35, and Barca are now in possession of an ageing striker whose career is going the wrong way.

Xavi has made some moves that suggest he knows Lewandowski's best days are behind him. According to reports in the Spanish press, the Barca boss "raged" at his star man at half-time of Barca's win over Almeria just before the winter break. Since then, he has cut Lewandowski's minutes. He played just over 70 against Las Palmas on January 4, and 62 in the win over Betis.

The arrival of Brazilian teenager Vitor Roque alone paints a picture of a club already preparing for a post-Lewandowski world. They might just be facing it sooner than expected, and Yamal can certainly step up and help fill the void.

If Lewandowski's performances continue to decline - and if his minutes shrink accordingly - Yamal could be the answer. He might, in fact, be one of a few surviving members of this Barca forward line within the next six months.

Lewandowski has 18 months left on his contract, but may consider an offer from the Saudi Pro League, or even MLS, if it comes in. Raphinha seems a fine candidate to be sold in the Blaugrana's money-raising efforts, too, while it would still feel like an immense surprise if Barca were to sign the inconsistent Joao Felix on a permanent deal.

There's uncertainty around Xavi, too. The Barca boss has succeeded in his primary remit of bringing a league title to Catalunya, but outside of that, his tenure has been underwhelming. A lot of the prerequisites of 'Barca DNA' - attractive football, tiki-taka, world-beating Spanish talents - are missing. Not all of that is Xavi's fault, as the Blaugrana's financial woes have handed him a tricky task. Still, he should shoulder the blame for a severe drop-off in performances this season.

If a top-tier manager becomes available, and Barca go trophyless this season, he could be out the door.

Xavi has a simple way to save his skin: play Yamal. Recent evidence shows that he can already win games alone, with his trickery, pace and creativity proving the difference in a handful of contests already. Yes, his legs need to be saved, and his minutes need to be managed, but Barca are on the verge of panic, while notions of 'crisis' run rampant. Yamal might not be the sole saviour of his club, but he could certainly offer a strong start.

In a few months, Barca may have something of a stripped down, but up-and-coming squad that Xavi could mould in his own image if he can prove himself worthy. He might look at a forward line with Yamal on the right, Roque through the middle, and maybe even a revitalised Ansu Fati on the left as something he can work with, especially if Torres is kept around to provide versatile and experienced depth.

Among that group, Yamal is the one with the biggest potential. While he's unlikely to be the Messi regen that some optimistic parties have framed him as, and his talent might not be enough to win silverware this season, he is a potentially world-class winger who can become the face of Barcelona's next great team.

If Xavi believes that to be the case, then it's about time he started trusting him more in the here and now. If he doesn't, he might not be around to oversee Yamal's development for much longer.