Over the coming few days and weeks, Barcelona will gradually increase their preparations for the preseason. The Catalan club needs this time to get new coach Hansi Flick acquainted with the club and his new squad. However, Barcelona and Flick will be looking to accelerate the process as much as possible.
At the moment, the coach unfortunately does not have the entirety of his squad at his disposal. Some of Barça’s key players have just recently participated in the European Championship in Germany, and it is understandable that they need some respite before making their return to the club.
One of those players was Jules Kounde, whose performances for France in the tournament were nothing short of world-class. From his MVP performance against Belgium to his solid outing against Portugal, Kounde was arguably the French team’s most consistent performer.
Regardless of such consistency and quality, Kounde was eventually snubbed in a big way by UEFA, however. The eventual team of the tournament that was announced did not include the Barcelona defender, and the right-back position was instead given to English fullback Kyle Walker.
Despite this snub by UEFA, Barcelona still remain fully dedicated to Kounde and believe in his quality as an elite player. As highlighted by SPORT, Barça currently see Kounde more consolidated than ever in their squad given the other factors that play a part as well.
While the 25-year-old Frenchman has proven himself to be an elite performer both as a central defender and also as a right-back, there are other reasons behind his security at the club. Moreover, even despite the fact that there are offers and interest for the player, Barça remains certain that they wish to retain him for now.
This situation has come to be because of Barça’s other defenders being currently unavailable as well or the possibility that they will be unavailable in the coming weeks. Ronald Araujo is already injured and will likely be out for several months, and Inigo Martinez is still not registered.
Moreover, Pau Cubarsi is expected to travel for the Olympics and that means that Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen are the only guarantees for Hansi Flick at the moment. The Frenchman will reportedly even cut his vacations short just to make it in time for Barça’s preseason
