27-year-old Barcelona star could return to familiar role under Hansi Flick this season – Report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have an important decision to make ahead of the 2026-27 season: establishing the hierarchy of their central defensive partnerships.

In Hansi Flick’s first season at the Catalan club, the partnership of Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi emerged as the German manager’s preferred option. However, that was no longer the case in 2025-26 after the veteran Spaniard left.

Eric Garcia and Gerard Martin featured in the majority of matches, but Andreas Christensen’s injury problems and Ronald Araujo’s form meant that no one truly made the position their own.

By the end of the season, Martin had emerged as Cubarsi’s preferred central defensive partner. However, despite the uncertainty, Barcelona do not appear to be focusing on reinforcing the position this summer.

Now, according to Mundo Deportivo, Flick may have a different plan involving Jules Kounde. The German manager views the Frenchman as an option at centre-back and could use him in that role during the upcoming campaign.

Flexibility in defence

Flick believes that greater flexibility in defence could help resolve the issues Barcelona faced last season. Eric can play at right-back, alongside options such as Hector Fort and Xavi Espart, allowing Flick to experiment with Kounde in central defence.

The German manager is said to be content with the options at his disposal, with Christensen now fit and La Masia defender Alvaro Cortes also emerging as an alternative. All signs point to the club not pursuing a new centre-back.

It has been some time since Kounde played regularly at centre-back. That was where he made his name at Sevilla, but since moving to Barcelona, he has transitioned into a right-back for both club and country.

It should not take the 27-year-old too long to readjust to the centre-back role, considering he spent most of his formative years there. It remains to be seen how the situation develops in the coming weeks.