23-year-old Barcelona defender consolidates role under Flick after last season’s emergence | OneFootball

Several young players made their breakthrough into the FC Barcelona first team during Hansi Flick’s first season in charge of the Blaugrana squad, and one such player who did so without enjoying a lot of the spotlight was the defender Gerard Martin.

After becoming a regular in the first team last season, SPORT notes that the Spaniard has gone on to consolidate his position this season.

Martin has already surpassed the 1,793 minutes he played last season, and only Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, and Alejandro Balde have accumulated more minutes among Barça defenders this term.

He has shown his versatility by performing both as a center-back and as a left-back, stepping in whenever the first-choice defenders needed rest or were unavailable.

The German coach has repeatedly praised Martin’s importance to the team, and the player has repaid that trust with solid performances in high-pressure situations. He started crucial matches such as the La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid and the Champions League encounter with PSG.

More recently, he was preferred over Balde in the game against Girona, and then started as a center-back against Levente, proving he can perform whenever and wherever required.

His consistent displays make him a key figure in the decisive phase of the season, just as he did in matches like the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, the La Liga Clasico, or the Champions League semifinals against Inter Milan last season.

Despite these achievements, Martin faces a pending task. Unlike last season, when he contributed one goal and six assists, he has yet to register a direct goal contribution this campaign.

After Joao Cancelo assisted Frenkie de Jong against Levante, Martin became the only outfield Barcelona player without a goal or assist so far. Playing nearly half of his minutes as a center-back partly explains this, but it remains an area for improvement.

Statistically, the 23-year-old Spaniard has made significant progress. In La Liga, he has increased his interventions from 33.2 to 58.3 per 90 minutes, improved accurate passes from 20 to 43.4 with higher accuracy from 85% to 90%, boosted recoveries from 1.5 to 2.1, raised clearances from 1 to 2.4, and won more duels, from 1.8 to 2.8 per game. These improvements reflect his growth and underline why Flick relies on him in the rotation.

While he has yet to make his mark in the final third, Gerard Martin remains a vital member of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona squad this season, combining consistency, versatility, and defensive reliability.