Barcelona starlet out of the picture for Hansi Flick | OneFootball

Barcelona have been accused of having a short squad this season, but there is one of their attacking contingent that Hansi Flick has struggled to find space for in his line-up. Young forward Roony Bardghji arrived in the summer with plenty of optimism over his potential, but so far he has been unable to show it.

The Sweden international does have Lamine Yamal ahead of him in his preferred position on the right side, which the club have indicated to MD is one of the reasons for his lack of minutes. The other motive is technical, with the Barcelona staff preferring other options off the bench.

Bardghji without minutes in Barcelona’s last five games

Image via EP

As pointed out by the Catalan daily, Bardghji has not appeared during any of Barcelona’s last five games against Celta Vigo, Athletic Club, Chelsea, Alaves or Atletico Madrid. Prior to that, Bardghji came off the bench three times for just 16 minutes of action. In total, Bardghji has made nine appearances, racking up 195 minutes, with one assist to his name.

After missing their first three games due to registration issues though, Bardghji played in nine of their 13 subsequent matches though, and showed some bright sparks. With Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha all getting fit though, his opportunities have been reduced.

Bardghji not keen on loan move in January

One thing that might not have gone down well with Flick was a comment he made, towards the end of October, when his run of absences began. With the German manager at pains to emphasize that he needed his forwards to press hard, Bardghji told the media that ‘the defensive side is not my thing‘.

Last month there was talk that he could leave on loan in January for more minutes, but Bardghji shut down that story, explaining that ‘Flick has faith in me’. It seems that he remains confident he will get his chances, and with the Copa del Rey coming up, Flick may be tempted to rotate more often.