Hansi Flick gives his verdict on Jules Kounde’s current situation at Barcelona

Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images Jules Kounde is trying to regain his spot as an undisputed starter for Barcelona after beginning the season as Eric Garcia’s backup at right-back, and his coach is confident the Frenchman can return to his best. Hansi Flick spoke to the press on Saturday and was ask

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What is the story about?

Jules Kounde is trying to regain his spot as an undisputed starter for Barcelona after beginning the season as Eric Garcia’s backup at right-back, and his coach is confident the Frenchman can return to his best.

Hansi Flick spoke to the press on Saturday and was asked about Kounde’s situation, and thinks the full-back is embracing the challenge of fighting for his spot early in the season and will work hard to return to the form that made him one of the top right-backs on the planet in Hansi Flick’s

first season.

“What I can say is that he is a great professional. He is not starting as a starter this season but for him it is a challenge. I know that he can play as a centre-back and that he prefers to play as a full-back because he had a top performance there in our first season. We always think about what’s best for the team, but what I can say is that he’s working hard to get back to his best version.”

Kounde is a fantastic all-around full-back when at his best, but we haven’t seen his best consistently for a while. Eric deserves the starting spot for now, but the prospect of a hungry Kounde fully focused on getting back to his top form is good news for Barça.