As Barcelona’s preseason gets underway, Hansi Flick has identified a problem: he has too many midfielders. And the coach would be comfortable if one of them is no longer around.
That’s at least what a new report from Diario SPORT says, citing club sources. Flick has admitted internally that he has too many options at the midfield position, and would like a more balanced squad with quality players in all areas of the team.
The coach knows that Pedri and Frenkie de Jong are the foundation of his midfield,
but after them there is Gavi, Dani Olmo, Fermín López, Marc Casadó, Marc Bernal, Oriol Romeu, as well as Raphinha who will most likely move to the number 10 role if and when a new left winger is signed.
Flick isn’t a big fan of rotations, so quite a few of those players will end up spending a lot of time on the bench. That’s what happened to Casadó, who was an undisputed starter but barely played before his injury once De Jong returned to the fold. Fermín also struggled for minutes for most of the season, and only earned a bigger role towards the end of the campaign because of Olmo’s injuries.
Gavi accepted a smaller role in his first season coming off a big injury, but he will also expect more minutes in the upcoming campaign. Romeu knows he’s not part of the plans, but he might not be the only midfielder departing the squad before the end of the transfer window.
There is major interest in Fermín López and Marc Casadó from around Europe, and Barça want to make at least one “important sale” in this window, according to the report. The club will do their due diligence and study whatever proposals arrive, and might decide to part ways with someone who is not currently expected to be sold.
And if they do decide to sell a midfielder that is not an undisputed starter for big money, they know that Flick is on board with the idea.
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