Real Madrid star full of praise for Barcelona wonderkid

Spain began their World Cup campaign with a statement 7-0 win over Costa Rica. Not a lot of people have Luis Enrique’s side as one of the favourites to win the competition but this performance showed that they are not in Qatar just to participate. One of the scorers on the night was Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio.

Asensio has enjoyed a turnaround in fortunes in recent months. He has gone from being an afterthought at Real Madrid to a regular impact substitute for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who can expect increased playing time in the second half of the season.

On the other hand, it looks like he will have a key role to play for Spain at the World Cup as well. Thus, all things considered, things are looking up for Asensio.

While Asensio might have scored against Costa Rica, the star performer on the night for Spain was Barcelona wonderkid, Gavi. In fact, even the Real Madrid star had some high praise for his international teammate.

Real Madrid star full of praise for Barcelona wonderkid

As reported by Marca, Asensio said about Gavi:

"“Sometimes he is surprising because of what he does at the age of 18. I see him train and he has a great level and self-confidence. For outsiders he can surprise but we know what he can give us in this World Cup.”"

Gavi is very highly rated at Barcelona and it is often easy to forget that he is still just 18 years of age, and already playing regular football for the Catalan giants.

Coming back to Asensio, it looks like his Real Madrid future could be about to take a turn soon. Initially, he was expected to leave as a free agent at the end of the season or for a token transfer fee in January. In fact, there were even some rumours which suggested that Barcelona were interested in signing the winger.

But now, it looks like the Spaniard could be set to sign a contract extension with Real Madrid and extend his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.