24-year-old Barcelona defender continues to gain prominence under Hansi Flick – Report | OneFootball

After returning to the 1:1 status, FC Barcelona were looking to sell some of their players to be able to generate the funds and the salary space to bring in an offensive reinforcement for Hansi Flick.

One of the players who was linked with a move away from the Catalan club most strongly was the defender Eric Garcia, whom Girona were once again looking to get.

However Hansi Flick and Deco decided to keep him in their squad for the second half of the season, and as SPORT has noted, this decision already seems to be paying off for the Blaugranes.

This is quite evident from the increasing importance the Spaniard is getting in the Barcelona team under Hansi Flick, as he has played 81% of minutes in the last four matches, i.e., 294 minutes from a possible 360.

On Thursday, in the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Valencia, Flick fielded him on the pitch from the very start, and the former Manchester City defender was quite comfortable playing alongside Pau Cubarsi.

He was particularly good with his passing, as he misplaced only two passes in the entire game, one in each half. Another highlight of his performance was his tackle that blocked a shot that was going goalwards.

Thus, he further showcased his increasing prominence in Flick’s team, after having been brought on for Ronald Araujo in the second half of the last game against Alaves. In that game, his introduction resulted in a clear improvement in his team’s efficiency with the ball.

Now, it remains to be seen what his role in the team will be when the big games come in the business end of the season. But it is clear that his prominence in the team is already increasing, and he is a more important player for Barcelona now than he was in the first half of the season.