Barcelona boss Flick speaks out on Frenkie de Jong-Marc Casadó battle | OneFootball

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has provided something of an insight into the ongoing battle for places in his midfield setup at present.

Recent weeks have of course seen the pecking order in Barcelona’s engine room suddenly altered.

After Marc Casadó spent the opening half of the term establishing himself as Pedri’s clear first-choice partner, the 21-year-old has frequently been left on the bench of late.

This comes with Frenkie de Jong, now back fit and firing on all cylinders, having seemingly overtaken his young teammate in the plans of boss Flick.

Speaking during his latest pre-match press conference on Saturday, it therefore came as little surprise when the names of both players were put to Barca’s headmaster himself.

And Flick went on to provide an insight into the reasoning behind his recent shake-up, in explaining:

“It’s a difficult question. Frenkie has improved a lot this month. Casadó is more defensive and focused on that aspect, while with Frenkie, we can have more possession and be more offensive. Casadó is a young player and can improve, but in his first season, he has done very well and should be proud of what he has achieved.”

Conor Laird – GSFN