Bad news for two Barcelona stars as Hansi Flick plans positional shake-up | OneFootball

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has shown a willingness to alter his primary plan and starting XI over the past few weeks. There could be more experiments coming before the turn of the year.

Flick has recently decided to use Gerard Martin more regularly as a central defender, having struggled for a regular partner for Pau Cubarsi. At one stage, Eric Garcia was playing next to him, but he has now been moved forward into midfield, with Flick making it clear to Frenkie de Jong that he must win his place back.

Flick intends to alter Raphinha position

According to Cadena SER, Flick is now planning to move Raphinha more centrally, and feels he may be his best option at the number 10 position. The Brazilian is expected to play there against Osasuna on Saturday, and it would be little surprise to see him there in Barcelona’s upcoming matches. It was also noted that Raphinha has told Flick on several occasions he was keen to do so.

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It was an option that Flick applied late on in games in the final third of last season, if Barcelona were pursuing matches. During the summer, there was talk that if Nico Williams or Luis Diaz were signed, then Raphinha could move inside on a regular basis too.

Bad news for Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez

It is not good news for Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo, who have been battling each other for that position for the last 18 months. Olmo is out injured until the start of 2026, while Lopez has just returned from injury. It is undoubtedly that spot behind the forward where both are most comfortable.

On the other hand, it theoretically opens the door for Marcus Rashford to compete for a starting spot. Flick was full of praise for the on-loan Manchester United forward on Friday, and he is the most obvious alternative on the left side.