Barcelona’s Three Biggest Questions of the Preseason | OneFootball

The preseason kicked off without many of Barcelona’s World Cup regulars, and Hansi Flick and Deco are using the time before they return to try to answer some of the club’s biggest questions.

A closed door 4-1 friendly win over Europa was for shaking off the rust and giving some teenagers their first chance to put on the first team jersey. The second friendly, a hard-fought penalty kicks loss to Birmingham City FC in front of 28,366 fans in the West Midlands, might have been a better opportunity to test the players against more competitive competition.

Despite some talking points from the friendly, many of the preseason’s biggest questions involve injured players, holes in the squad, and transfer sagas seemingly without ends. Here are the three biggest questions of the preseason for Hansi Flick, though Deco’s role in the answers may be larger than the German coach.

1. Who will be Barcelona’s 9?

No question looms over FC Barcelona this summer larger than the hole up top. Robert Lewandowski’s exit and transfer to Chicago Fire (where he had a brace in his second match) has left a vacuum in the middle.

Ferran Torres started more games last season than Lewandowski up top, and he’s the favorite to do the same this season. Yet, Deco is in a difficult predicament with World Cup Final goal scorer. With one year left on his contract, his camp does hold some of the leverage until Barça can find another striker. PSG is reportedly ready to offer Torres the money he believes he’s worth, and this posturing could also be a weapon to get that money out of the Catalans.

Hamza Abdelkarim arrived to training camp after playing with Egypt at the World Cup. Despite a brace against Birmingham City, he should not be expected to play a major role with the first team this season. Another year polishing his game with Barça Atlétic would certainly be better for his development than riding the first team bench. Instead, the unfortunate reality may be that Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, Hansi Flick’s newest forward toys, may need to deputize in the middle more than expected.

Possible Transfers

Julián Alvarez was the main target; that’s not breaking news. But although he and Barcelona batted eyes at each other, no progress has been made. Atlético Madrid have told him to show up on August 10th after his World Cup vacation and put a price tag on the player that is out of Barcelona’s budget.

Eli Junior Kroupi of Bournemouth, who was the reported back-up option, was also valued outside of Barça’s budget. And that was before going down with a foot injury for the next few months and ruling out any summer transfer regardless. With those options off the market, back-up to the back-up options are starting to reveal themselves, the latest being Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis of Benfica, who Culers may remember after his hat-trick against them in the Champions League.

2. What will Barcelona do about Frenkie de Jong?

Frenkie de Jong is expected to be out of action between three and six months to recover from a knee injury. The Dutch midfielder responded to public criticism of how he handled the injury, saying that doctors told him at the World Cup that it wouldn’t get worse. Then after the competition he was told that his knee was much worse than expected and surgery could be necessity. The player appears to be opting for a conservative recovery while the club wants him to consider surgery.

The question that club is now asking itself is how long will he miss and can that time off benefit the wage bill? If he is approved by La Liga as missing the first half of the season, as Andreas Christensen was last season, then the club can use his allotted salary to bring in some help, possibly in the midfield. The difference between de Jong and Christensen, however, is that de Jong’s salary may be too large to survive the bill when it comes due in January.

So do the club need another midfielder? Between Pedri, Gavi, and Marc Bernal, there are in theory enough legs for the double pivot. Additional exists if Marc Casadó sticks around as the fourth pivot or Tommy Marqués gets more trust.

3. Which youngsters will stay or go?

Without the World Cup stars, this preseason is an amble opportunity for a number of teenagers to catch Flick’s eye. It does seem that Tommy Marqués, Xavi Espart, and Álvaro Cortés, the three players who spent much of the spring with the first team, have the inside tracks on expanding their roles. But that doesn’t mean that others aren’t being given the same chance. Héctor Fort has returned from loan to fight for his spot and it was interesting that Flick played him at centre-back against Birmingham City to get others on the field in positions where they are more comfortable.

Brian Fariñas, a 20-year-old midfielder, may have done the same thing in playing right-back. He was set to go to Girona, but that plan got nixed so he could fight for a spot in preseason. Along with some of those already mentioned, Áron Yaakobishvili, Jofre Torrents, Guille Ferńandez, and Toni Fernández seem to be the other four who will either stay with the first team or more likely head out on loan or a sale come the end of the summer.

The Barça Atlétic Crew

The last group is the batch who have a home with Barça Atlétic to continue their development if things don’t work out with the first team. Goalkeeper Iker Rodríguez may not get a shot in preseason, but all of Orian Goren, Ibrahim Diarra, Ebrima Tunkara, Jordi Pesquer, Álex González, and Shane Kluivert are featuring in official friendlies.

After good showings against Birmingham City, it’s almost a shame that Diarra and Tunkara play best as attacking midfielders, as they find themselves on the depth chart behind Dani Olmo and Fermín López. Sixteen-year-old Ebrima Tunkara is the major prospect, and patience will be expected from Culers as he adds consistency to his promising abilities. They may have wait their turns or find a way to make an impact at other positions. 18-year-old Jesse Bisiwu has just arrived from Club Brugge and he will likely get an extended opportunity with the first team this season, as Roony Bardghji did last year.

For more questions about the preseason, check out coverage on The Barcelona Podcast: