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Sports News of Thursday, 21 February 2019

Source: Marca

Boateng's rollercoaster journey at Camp Nou

Boateng understood that he would not be a starter upon joining Barcelona from Sassuolo Boateng understood that he would not be a starter upon joining Barcelona from Sassuolo

Since arriving in the January transfer window, Kevin-Prince Boateng has had an interesting time at Barcelona as he has barely played since debuting against Sevilla, one day after completing his loan move to the Camp Nou.

The 31-year-old played 61 minutes at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and in the five matches that followed, against Girona, Sevilla, Valencia, Real Madrid and Athletic Club, Boateng did not play.

The script changed against Real Valladolid last weekend as he started at the Camp Nou and played an hour, yet his performance was underwhelming as he showed gaps in understanding with his new teammates.

Three days later, in the Champions League away at Lyon, Boateng travelled with the squad but had to watch on from the stands after not making Ernesto Valverde's 18-man matchday squad.

It has not been an easy first month for the Ghanaian international as he has struggled to make an impression on the pitch, and off it, he has had issues, too, as his house was robbed while he was playing against Valladolid.

Boateng understood that he would not be a starter upon joining Barcelona from Sassuolo, yet there is no doubt that he would have expected to have featured more than he has. His goal must now be to impress Valverde in training and prove that he has something to offer the team, even from the bench.