Barcelona youngster continues to lose prominence under Hansi Flick – Report | OneFootball

In the third game of the La Liga season, Barcelona suffered a cruel blow minutes before full-time when 17-year-old defensive midfielder Marc Bernal had to be stretchered off the field. The Spanish youngster was proving to be a breakthrough starlet but his progress was cut short.

At that point, Barcelona had already loaned out Oriol Romeu and had no natural pivot in the squad, especially with Frenkie de Jong also out injured. It all looked dull and gloomy for Hansi Flick before Marc Casado stepped in.

The ex-Barca Atletic captain had been patiently waiting for an opportunity in the first-team and now was his moment in the Sun. He knew he had to take his chance and it is safe to say that the Spanish international has not looked back since.

Casado was an indisputable starter for Hansi Flick for the entirety of 2024 but since the start of the current calendar year, Frenkie de Jong has returned to his very best. Now, as per SPORT, the Spaniard is no longer an automatic selection.

In the last six games, Casado has started just one against Las Palmas last weekend. He was undoubtedly perfect against the Canary Islands team, not putting a foot wrong and yet, he couldn’t get a single minute against Atletico Madrid.

It is safe to say that Casado has exceeded all expectations since his breakthrough into the first team, but in the current scheme of things, Flick has placed Frenkie ahead of him in the pecking order. In all fairness, the Dutchman has hardly put a foot wrong either.

The important thing for the 21-year-old is that he is a very different profile to Frenkie. Hence, there are certain games against certain opposition where the team needs a player like him and he is likely to remain important going forward.

Barcelona fans shouldn’t be reading too much into the situation surrounding Casado. Hansi Flick has just used the last few games to play Frenkie de Jong back into form and give him some confidence. The 21-year-old Spaniard should get more chances going forward.