“We have enough” - Flick says Barça won’t sign another midfielder

Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images

The coach is happy with his options

At the start of the summer transfer window it was the assumption of everyone that Barcelona would look to sign a new holding midfielder, with Oriol Romeu unable to fill the void left by the departure of Sergio Busquets and the fact that Andreas Christensen was used out of position to try and perform the role of pivot under Xavi Hernández.

Then Hansi Flick became the new manager and with him came the rumors of Joshua Kimmich as a potential signing, thanks to the two working together at Bayern Munich and the German national team as well as Barça’s previous links with the player since the start of the year.

But with the preseason tour of the United States now over, it seems as though the need for a specialist holding midfielder is not at the top of the list of priorities for Flick. The coach was asked after the friendly against AC Milan if he plans to sign any new defensive midfielders, and his answer was pretty definitive:

“I believe we have enough players there. When [Frenkie de Jong and Gavi] return, we’ll be an even better team.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo

Hansi’s stance could not be clearer. It appears obvious that the performances of Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal have changed his views on the need for cover in that position, and that Frenkie de Jong and Gavi seem to be his favorite double pivot pairing once they return from injury.

Flick recently blocked a move for N’Golo Kanté to focus on the youngsters’ development, and there is very little doubt at this point that the coach is prepared to start the season with Casadó and Bernal as part of the first team dynamic and use the versatility of the likes of Pedri, Ilkay Gündogan and Christensen until De Jong and Gavi are available.

The signing of Dani Olmo will at least attempt to address the lack of extra options on the wings as the Spaniard has played on both flanks many times for club and country, but Flick seems to be pretty happy with what’s available at the heart of midfield.

Only time will tell if the coach is right or not, but he clearly believes Barça’s current group of midfielders are capable of much more than we’ve seen in recent seasons.

Source: barcablaugranes.com