King Manaj (Lushnjë, Albania, 24-2-1997) signed for Barça in the winter of 2020. It cost 700,000 euros and two million more in variables. He signed until 2023, with a termination clause of 50 million. Quique Setién summoned him for an official match against Getafe and Koeman made him play against Nàstic, in this last preseason. He scored a hat trick on his best day for Barça. Offers rained down on him and he decided to leave to accumulate minutes. He chose Spezia, a recent promotion to Serie A. He is happy and has no regrets.
How are you doing on your return to Italy?
Very happy. The team is doing well and I am also going through a very good moment. We have just won three games in a row away from home in the last four days, but we have to be aware that a bad result can mess everything up. We must continue with humility and not be afraid of anyone.
A very different style to Barça?
Playing at Barça is different from what you have to do to fight not to go down in category. In Barcelona I only thought about finishing the moves and here I had to adapt to another way of playing.
Serie A and LaLiga, little to see?
In Spain it is a much more technical football, here they are very tactical, they worry about the defenses. In the League they think about attacking more, here it is important that they do not score a goal. The teams that concede the fewest goals win the championship.
And Spezia looking for its place.
Last year they did well and there are new players. Let’s see if we can stay in the top category.
It is the club with the youngest average age of the five major European leagues. A project and a challenge
It is a very young group. I have a very nice project ahead of me and with a coach who likes to play football. We don’t have a lot of experience, but we are all together looking for the goal of continuing in Serie A.
With Thiago Motta, a former Barça player, on the bench.
He was one of the best midfielders in the world. As a technician he is also showing it. We understand each other very well and he is involved with the club.
It’s both defensive and offensive…
He likes to have the ball, but there is also a lot of physical effort behind it. He likes the team to be intense.
Is a goal goal scored?
I’m not scoring many goals but performance is fine. I am at a good level of play. I need the little step forward to fill the number of goals. Now the important thing is to think more about the team than about the goals.
He is on loan with a purchase option of 2.7 million, is there an option to return?
In this winter market I have had offers from the Spanish League to return but right now I only think about Spezia and doing things well. Later in the summer I will sit down with my representatives and with the two clubs we will study the solutions that exist and decide.
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