'Braithwaite more a Barca type of player than many believe'

Michael Pedersen has warned against writing Barcelona's Martin Braithwaite off as LaLiga prepares to restart next month from a three-month stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Pedersen was the mentor to the Denmark international during his formative days at Esbjerg and says he's much more a Barça player than many have given him credit for since he signed from Leganes for 18 million euros in February. 

“We haven’t seen Martin play a lot for Barça because of the corona break, but he is much more a Barça type of player than many may believe,” Pedersen told Goal. 

“He has the tactical ability to fit into different tactical set-ups depending on the clubs he has represented in his career so far, and I know that he can play with a vision and anticipation in his game that is quite extraordinary. 

“He is very good in that phase of the game, where he can see options that a lot of other players don’t see, where he can create space for other players, which is quite rare, since most players focus on creating space for themselves. 

“His timing in his runs is amazing, and he anticipates the dangerous areas to attack into before they appear. Good players run into the danger areas as soon as they see them, but the best players spot the areas, then they wait with their run until the perfect moment with the maximum effect - that is football intelligence, and Martin has that ability. This is why he is a Barcelona player, in my opinion.

“And this is why I am looking forward to watching him play for Barcelona when La Liga restarts because with such great team-mates, he will have a great possibility to show his skills at the very highest level.”