Three things to watch out for as Barcelona begin pre-season under Flick | OneFootball

Hansi Flick begins his third season at FC Barcelona with a squad divided by the World Cup, a new group of La Masia hopefuls and an attack learning to live without Robert Lewandowski.

There will be no grand reunion when Barcelona return to work on 13 July for the customary medical examinations and physical tests, beginning a pre-season that will later take them to St George’s Park in England.

However, the group of players that walks through the training-ground doors will bear little resemblance to the one expected to begin the competitive season.

Some of Barcelona’s most important footballers are still chasing the World Cup. Others have only just arrived back from it and are currently on holiday.

Several academy players, meanwhile, are about to discover that this pre-season is going to be more than just making up the numbers for them.

The first weeks will not reveal the finished version of Flick’s third Barcelona. They may, however, provide early indications of the blueprint.

Here are three things to look out for as Barcelona begin pre-season under the German tactician.

Flick will manage a pre-season moving at two different speeds

Barcelona’s summer begins with one team in Catalonia and another scattered across North America.

Sixteen Barça players originally travelled to the World Cup. Eight members of Spain’s squad have now reached the semi-finals, where they will face France, who have Jules Kounde.

Barcelona still have a number of players at the World Cup. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Anthony Gordon’s England, meanwhile, are due to meet Norway in their quarter-final on 11 July, where the Three Lions are likely to progress.

The club have already confirmed that their World Cup representatives will not return for the beginning of pre-season.

For those who reach the final on 19 July, the gap between international duty and Barcelona’s competitive campaign could become particularly narrow.

Flick is therefore preparing two different teams. One group will spend the second half of July rebuilding its physical base, absorbing the staff’s instructions and competing for places in the team.

The other will eventually return with match rhythm already in its legs, but with a month of high-pressure tournament football in its body and mind.

Although they will get a holiday after their international commitments, it will not be nearly enough rest for some of the players who played a lot of minutes last season for Barcelona.

Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Kounde are not merely members of the squad, they are some of Flick’s first names on the team sheet.

Rushing them back would be reckless. Allowing them too much time away could leave Barcelona underprepared for the beginning of the season.

Flick must gradually bring together players who have trained for several weeks with those who have barely stopped competing.

This pre-season is less about tactics and results and more about the physical readiness of players ahead of what is set to be yet another gruelling season.

It remains to be seen how Flick blends these two groups to ensure players are fit and available for him at the start of the 2026-27 La Liga campaign.

La Masia’s golden opportunity

The absence of so many senior players creates an obvious problem for the coaching staff. It also creates the summer’s greatest opportunity.

Flick may initially have only a small collection of established first-team players available. Marc Bernal, Marc Casado, Alejandro Balde, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martin, Hector Fort, Wojciech Szczesny and Roony Bardghji are among those expected to be ready right away.

Ebrima Tunkara will be one to watch out for in pre-season. (Picture credit: Instagram/@ebrimatunkara10)

Some of the players on the list do not have assured futures at the club and could leave this summer in search of game time. Thus, Flick will have to turn to La Masia to make up the numbers on the training pitch.

Baba Kourouma, Ebrima Tunkara, Orian Goren, Alex Gonzalez, Hamza Abdelkarim, Shane Kluivert, Xavi Espart, Tommy Marques, Landry Farre, Alvaro Cortes and Oscar Gistau are all expected to be involved in the first-team scheme of things.

The likes of Guille and Toni Fernandez could also get an opportunity, having been in the first-team scheme of things previously.

Flick has not hidden his interest. At the end of last season, the German said he wanted to see “new faces” during pre-season. Thirteen La Masia players have made their senior debuts during his tenure. This should give these youngsters a massive confidence boost.

The first objective is to survive the opening training sessions. The next is to earn a place on the flight to England. Torrents, Cortes, Espart and Marques already have first-team experience of varying degrees.

Kluivert represents one of the younger, more intriguing options available to the coach. Ebrima Tunkara is the name every Barcelona fan is excited to see in action during pre-season, given the reputation that surrounds him.

Not everyone can stay. Most will return to Barça Atletic or the youth sides once the World Cup contingent comes home. However, there are some names who have the chance to make such an impression that Flick does not want to let them go.

The post-Lewandowski attack begins to take shape

For four seasons, Barcelona knew who the leader of their attack was. Robert Lewandowski occupied the penalty area, engaged the centre-backs and scored a truckload of goals for the Catalan club.

He leaves Barcelona after scoring 120 goals, closing one of the most productive chapters of his career and removing the squad’s only established specialist centre-forward.

Barcelona have responded by adding speed, intensity and verticality rather than immediately replacing his profile.

Anthony Gordon has joined from Newcastle United. The England international scored 17 goals last season, including 10 in the Champions League, and arrives as a direct, relentless winger whose running and pressing appear naturally suited to Flick’s demands.

However, his involvement at the World Cup and England’s deep run mean Flick will have to wait a while before he can integrate him into the tactical setup.

Adeyemi could join pre-season training next week. (Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images)

Karim Adeyemi is expected to add another explosive profile to the forward line. Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund have reached an agreement worth an initial €22 million plus performance-related add-ons.

The German forward recorded 10 goals and six assists last season and offers many of the qualities Flick values: speed in transition, aggressive running without the ball and the ability to operate across the attacking line.

Neither Gordon nor Adeyemi is a conventional Lewandowski replacement. That may be precisely the point.

With Lamine holding the right, Gordon attacking from the left and Adeyemi capable of moving between the wing and central zones, Barcelona could become more fluid and less dependent on a single penalty-box reference.

There is also the case of Julian Alvarez, who is Barcelona’s dream striker target this summer. Even if he were to arrive, Atletico’s stance so far means he is unlikely to be unveiled as a Barça player until late in pre-season.

Ferran Torres’ future at the club is not certain, with PSG pushing to try and sign the Spaniard, who has less than 12 months left on his Barcelona contract.

Barcelona still need players to occupy the six-yard box, pin defenders and convert the chances created by Pedri, Lamine and Raphinha.

While they may miss Lewandowski’s hold-up play, Flick should be confident of solving the problem using a combination of Lamine, Raphinha, Adeyemi, Gordon, Ferran if he stays, and Alvarez if he arrives.

Pre-season will give a glimpse of how Raphinha and Adeyemi can fit into Flick’s plans and, sooner rather than later, the rest of the band will get in on the act.

That is the central attacking question of pre-season: whether Flick is merely introducing new wingers or completely changing the shape of his attacking structure.

Pre-season is when the new Barcelona attack takes shape, and it remains to be seen how things look ahead of the new campaign.