Report reveals Hansi Flick’s bold plan for the Barcelona attack featuring Marcus Rashford | OneFootball

All throughout the summer so far, FC Barcelona had been linked to a new left-winger. From Nico Williams to Luis Diaz, there were a lot of names being connected to the Catalan club. Ultimately, however, Barcelona decided to bring in a player from the English Premier League this summer.

Arriving from Manchester United, Marcus Rashford was the player chosen to join the club. Now officially announced as a new club signing as well, the English forward has now arrived in Spain and has even been given the number ‘14’ to wear this season.

In terms of his place in this team, however, there seems to be a level of uncertainty. Earlier reports claimed that he would be primarily used as a substitute, but a recent report claims that Hansi Flick might just have a bold plan in his mind to put into practice that involves Rashford as a key component.

Hansi Flick’s ambitious plan for the Barcelona attack

Marcus Rashford has officially signed for FC Barcelona. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

According to Fichajes, Flick is looking to deploy both Rashford and Raphinha simultaneously during preseason to test out a new strategy for next season. With the English forward on the wing and Raphinha as a sort of second striker behind the primary centre-forward, the Barcelona coach wants to add more directness to the team.

While it might not be the kind of role that the Brazilian forward is most commonly associated with, it is a position that he has played in. Moreover, with Rashford’s ability to engage in one-on-one dribbling contests, it should open up even more space for Raphinha to work his magic more centrally.

It would, at least theoretically, allow the Brazilian forward to make more runs into the box and get near the opposition goal more frequently. Furthermore, with Rashford and Lamine Yamal being tasked to operate on the wings, the likes of Raphinha and possibly Robert Lewandowski should have more space to operate centrally.

A lot of fine-tuning still left to do

However, this ambitious concept does need fine-tuning and a lot of work. To do that, Flick is reportedly expected to test this system out, one that still makes use of his team’s standard 4-2-3-1 formation, during the preseason that is now going on.

By combining the explosiveness, directness, and versatility of his forwards, the Barcelona coach wants to create a team full of energy and danger for the opponent. Fortunately, the German tactician should have just enough time to sort out the intricacies of this concept in the coming weeks.