Barcelona already planning their squad for pre-season in summer with La Masia in focus | OneFootball

As the season enters a decisive phase, with Barcelona holding a minimal lead over Real Madrid in La Liga, in the final four of the Copa del Rey and waiting to learn their opponent in the Champions League, attention is also beginning to turn cautiously towards what lies ahead.

Pre-season will begin at the end of next July. It will be an atypical summer, with a World Cup that will last longer than usual and will mean that a significant part of Barcelona’s first-team squad will not report back until August.

Planning underway

As such, SPORT reports that work is already underway quietly at Barcelona with regard to planning their squad for the pre-season.

It will be a similar scenario to the one that greeted Hansi Flick when he arrived in 2024. During those first weeks, the German tactician had very few first-team players available.

That situation opens the door to a selection process in which La Masia players are given the opportunity to show the manager that they deserve a place at the elite level.

Several young talents within the youth and reserve ranks are already being identified as candidates to be involved in the first-team pre-season.

Xavi Espart and Juan Hernandez expected to do pre-season with first team. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Juan Hernandez has recently renewed his contract with the idea of starting work under Flick more regularly. The presence of Jofre Torrents, Alvaro Cortes, Toni Fernandez and Guille Fernandez is also expected.

There are also players such as Tommy Marques and Xavi Espart who, despite not taking part in pre-season under Flick last summer, have spent many weeks training under the first-team coach this season.

There is still a great deal to define, and several situations within the club’s planning remain unresolved. With elections ahead and uncertainty over whether both Deco and Flick will continue, the approach is being taken with caution.

Even so, the strategy is already being outlined, and the German coach’s trust in La Masia is clear.

Some players, if they do not remain with the first team, will need to go out on loan away from Barcelona to gain experience. Others will continue with the reserve side. Everything, though, depends on those first weeks of pre-season.