Jules Koundé’s return to centre-back at Barcelona could reset the pecking order | OneFootball

Jules Koundé has spent pre-season back at centre-back for Barcelona, a switch that could reshape his role as the back-to-back La Liga champions open at Elche on Sunday at 21:30.

According to L'Équipe, the Frenchman started in the middle against Al-Ahly in the Joan Gamper Trophy, a 2-1 win where fellow centre-back Eric Garcia filled in at right-back. Koundé has largely played right-back since 2023 for club and country.

Barcelona begin without a new striker after Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres departed, and without a new face at centre-back either. Head coach Hansi Flick does not see the back line as the root of recent European exits, highlighting collective errors instead, though changes could still follow.

Pau Cubarsi is a fixture and needs a partner. Last season, in a more testing year than the one before, Koundé, 27, denied having asked to be moved inside. This return could give him fresh impetus alongside the teenager.

Andreas Christensen, back from a long lay-off, and Gerard Martin, who finished last season as starter, are also in contention. Ronald Araujo is out of the picture after a loan to Liverpool.

Koundé, signed in 2022 after Xavi Hernandez convinced him to join, has endured a difficult spell amid sustained exit talk. He and his camp confirmed in June that he wanted to continue at the club, while Flick has not set out the statuses of Koundé or Alejandro Balde and has been clear with players over their futures.

Aymeric Laporte has been offered but is not a priority, and the case for Castello Lukeba is not unanimous. Koundé is under contract until 2030 and, in six matches, could become Barcelona’s most-capped French player.

Source: L'Équipe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”