Dimata, a prince in the kingdom of Hazard and Courtois

“Before the injury, I had a very high-level future, the steps were clear. Arrive with Belgium and look for minutes like nine. Now is hard. He needs patience. “The phrase is from February by Robert Martínez, Belgian coach, who attended AS when LaLiga SmartBank's Espanyol obtained the loan with a purchase option for 2.3 million Nany Dimata, forward who was not having chances in the Anderlecht.

Dimata scored five goals last season and joined Vicente Moreno's starting team in a meteoric second round for Espanyol that took him to Primera. Now, in the highest category, The Belgian has more competition and has seen how he is more of a resource for certain encounters than a definitive solution in attack. This Sunday against Real Madrid could be the surprise: on Friday, During morning training, both second coach Dani Pendín and especially Moreno were chatting with him individually for ten minutes.

Dimata, as Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois were in their day, was international in the lower categories of his country and was called to follow naturally his promotion to the absolute. In fact, he made his debut in the first division of his country at the age of 19 and scored 14 goals in Oostende, and Wolfsburg signed him for 15 million euros. He did not work in Germany, always a substitute, and in February 2019 he suffered a serious knee injury that kept him standing for 16 months. He returned to Anderlecht in the summer of 2020 but had no chances until he found a new home at Espanyol.

His virtues and his desire for the future

Adapted to Barcelona and the dressing room, loved by his teammates, the forward plays little of the game although he stands out for his use of his body to hold the ball and his calm in the area to make decisions. Leandro Cabrera's 2-2 against Betis is preceded by a cut and shot from the Belgian in the 94th minute of the game.

The forward, who has the competition of Raúl de Tomás, who always starts, and Loren Morón, also feels harmed by Moreno's new game system, the player with three midfielders, two wingers and only one striker. But he is willing to earn his place little by little, to go back to being the same as before and, who knows, if finally to be able to play with Hazard and Courtois one day in the Belgian national team.