Hansi Flick returns to work as Barcelona begin planning for the new season
· Yahoo Sports
Although FC Barcelona’s players are not due back until 13 July, head coach Hansi Flick will resume work before the squad reports for pre-season.
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After briefly interrupting his holiday last week to attend Joan Laporta’s presidential inauguration ceremony, the German is expected back at the Ciutat Esportiva this week to begin preparations for the upcoming campaign, reports SPORT.
His first priorities will include planning pre-season training alongside his coaching staff and addressing several key sporting decisions before the players return.
Finalising Barcelona’s pre-season schedule
One of Flick’s immediate tasks will be to work closely with sporting director Deco, despite the latter spending several days in the United States following the World Cup.
Training officially begins on 13 July, with the initial medical examinations taking place that day.
Raedy to jump back in. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
Between 27 July and 3 August, Barcelona will hold a training camp at St. George’s Park in England. However, the club has not yet finalised every friendly match that will be played before the start of the new La Liga season.
For now, Barcelona will face CE Europa at the Ciutat Esportiva on 24 July in a friendly behind closed doors. A week later, they take on Birmingham City at St. Andrew’s Stadium on 31 July. Later on 8 August Barcelona will face off against Udinese in Italy.
Barcelona will also host the Joan Gamper Trophy on 19 August, although the opponent has yet to be confirmed.
A reduced squad because of the World Cup
Barcelona’s pre-season will initially begin with a significantly reduced first-team squad because many players remain involved in the World Cup.
At the moment, Flick can only count on a handful of senior players being available from day one, such as Wojciech Szczesny, Alejandro Balde, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martin, Hector Fort, Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, and Roony Bardghji.
They will be joined by Fermin Lopez once he has fully recovered from the injury that prevented him from participating in the World Cup.
Young players await their chance
Xavi Espart is one of the youngsters who could do pre-season under Flick. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Another important task for the German coach will be deciding which academy players will participate in pre-season with the first team.
A large group of youngsters is expected to begin training, although it remains uncertain how many of them will eventually travel to England for the training camp.
Since Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong have already been knocked out, both are expected to be available for the England camp. If more Barcelona internationals are eliminated during the Round of 16, they could also join the squad in time for the trip.
Keeping up with transfers
Flick will also use his return to Barcelona to receive detailed updates on the club’s transfer activity.
Barcelona have already completed the signing of Anthony Gordon, but the squad still requires a new centre-forward following Robert Lewandowski’s departure. Julian Alvarez is the priority target, while Flick also wants the club to re-sign Joao Cancelo permanently.
Alongside incoming transfers, Flick will closely monitor Barcelona’s outgoing business.
The futures of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Casado, Fort and Bardghji remain unresolved, and those departures could directly influence opportunities for several academy players.
Should enough first-team places become available, some of the youngsters involved in pre-season could ultimately earn permanent spots in Flick’s senior squad for the entire campaign.