FC Barcelona have already played the first two matches of the 2024-25 season, but their squad is still to take its final shape. There are few days left in the summer transfer window, and the Catalans are working on several operations, the success or lack thereof would determine the team available to Flick for this season.
Only today, the Catalans officially announced the departures of Vitor Roque and Clement Lenglet on loan, while they are also quite closely linked with the Italian forward Federico Chiesa.
Meanwhile, Flick has tried out almost all the players available to him in the current squad in the pre-season and the first two official matches. In the game against Athletic Club, he played Fermin Lopez for some minutes as the Spaniard had returned to Barcelona late after his participation in the UEFA EURO 2024 and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Fermin won both of these competitions with Spain and played a very prominent part in the Olympics. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the German tactician was asked about the midfielder as he spoke to the press ahead of the match against Rayo Vallecano, to which Flick replied:
“Fermín had a few days of rest, which was very important for him after the two tournaments. Now he’s here, and it’s good to have him in the team. He showed that in the last match. We’re happy with his contribution and mentality.”
The €30m-rated Spanish midfielder had a good few minutes against Athletic Club, and it looks like he will once again have a good role to play with the Barcelona team despite the departure of Xavi Hernandez, the coach who had promoted him from the youth team to the first team.
But as Flick himself commented, allowing him to get some rest after such a strenuous summer is also important, so he might not get as many minutes as he would want in the coming few matches.
