€60m Barcelona midfielder is now no longer enjoying absolute confidence of Hansi Flick | OneFootball

FC Barcelona returned to winning ways in their last night’s encounter against the French side Brest in the UEFA Champions League. This was a good night for the Cules as their team had not been able to win the last two games against Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, and a win was badly needed in this game to help them recover the team’s spirits.

While this win significantly raised the mood in the Barcelona dressing room, there was still one undesirable event in this match that can have a long-term impact on Flick’s team selection going forward, i.e., Frenkie de Jong getting booed by his own fans as he got on to the pitch in the 88th minute.

Barcelona fans have been left unimpressed by the €60m-rated Dutchman’s apparent apathy on the pitch, which has recently also been combined with a significant decline in his contributions to building up the attacks.

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When he took over the head coach’s job at the Catalan club, one of the top priorities for Hansi Flick was to recover De Jong’s best level, as he is one of the most important midfielders in the squad and also one of the captains of the team.

The German tactician retained his confidence in the midfielder despite his poor performances following his recovery, but SPORT reports that this might change now, especially as the coach now has several options for his midfield.

Several midfielders have returned to availability for Flick in the last few weeks. Now he can play Gavi and Fermin Lopez, two players who excel in pressuring opponents higher up the pitch.

Similarly, Marc Casado has also proven his credentials as a competent pivot, while Pedri is also performing at the best level that he has shown in his career in a deeper role.

Furthermore, Flick also had Dani Olmo to play as his attacking midfielder, while Pablo Torre also seems ready and gunning to fight for more minutes, and he got an important success in this endeavor as he surpassed De Jong in the pecking order in the match against Brest.

Thus, with so many options, and Frenkie not performing at the required levels, the fans’ displeasure can make it easier for Flick to decide on what decision he takes in regards to the star midfielder’s role in the team going forward.