{"id":75553,"date":"2026-08-25T14:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T14:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/75553\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T14:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T14:32:09","slug":"barcelona-midfield-gems-girona-move-now-hinges-entirely-on-frenkie-de-jong-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/75553\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona midfield gem\u2019s Girona move now hinges entirely on Frenkie de Jong situation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona youngster Brian Fari\u00f1as has emerged as one of the pleasant surprises of Hansi Flick\u2019s preparations, but his immediate future remains far from straightforward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The young midfielder has done enough to earn the trust of the Barcelona manager, who was so keen to assess him during pre-season that he <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/hansi-flick-halts-barcelona-youngsters-girona-transfer-after-surprise-pre-season-decision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">blocked a move to Girona<\/a> before preparations even began.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fari\u00f1as responded exactly as Flick would have hoped, <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-talent-wins-over-hansi-flick-with-pre-season-performance-set-to-define-his-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">impressing the coaching staff<\/a> and strengthening his case for a place around the first-team setup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet his next move is now closely connected to a completely different story: Frenkie de Jong\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundodeportivo.com\/futbol\/fc-barcelona\/20260825\/1004219574\/futuro-brian-farinas-pendiente-frenkie-jong.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Mundo Deportivo<\/a>, Barcelona have ruled out sending Fari\u00f1as back to the reserve team.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision is therefore between keeping him with Flick\u2019s senior squad or allowing him to join Girona in a deal that had already been agreed, and De Jong\u2019s situation could be the factor that tips the balance.<\/p>\n<p>Fari\u00f1as has given Flick plenty to think about<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/nottingham-forest-v-barcelona-friuli-venezia-giulia-cup-1-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Brian Farinas of Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-208948\"  \/>Brian Fari\u00f1as made a strong impression on Hansi Flick. (Photo by Timothy Rogers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flick\u2019s decision to stop Fari\u00f1as from leaving for Girona was based on the idea that he wanted to see the player for himself, and the German coach was impressed by what followed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fari\u00f1as showed that he could offer flexibility across midfield, operating as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder and in a more advanced role.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Furthermore, Flick even <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/flick-tests-barcelona-stars-in-makeshift-positions-in-training-ahead-of-gamper-trophy-match\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">tested the youngster at right-back<\/a> against Birmingham and that versatility has become one of Fari\u00f1as\u2019 biggest strengths.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fari\u00f1as has now moved from taking part in training to genuinely convincing the manager that he can contribute in the first team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But convincing Flick and finding regular opportunities are two different things.<\/p>\n<p>De Jong\u2019s recovery to decide his next step<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As such, the situation surrounding De Jong is now central to Barcelona\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fc-barcelona-v-real-oviedo-laliga-ea-sports-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Frenkie De Jong of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-208245\"  \/>Barcelona are keen to receive an update on Frenkie de Jong. (Photo by David Ramos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Dutch midfielder is currently recovering from a rupture of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, sustained during the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-midfielder-makes-recovery-progress-but-tells-medical-staff-he-is-still-in-pain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">He has chosen a conservative treatment<\/a> route, although surgery remains a possibility if his recovery does not progress as expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona are monitoring the situation, and the outcome could affect Fari\u00f1as directly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If De Jong remains unavailable for an extended period, keeping the youngster with the first team would make more sense, as the reserve-team route is no longer part of the equation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That leaves Fari\u00f1as in an unusual position. His future will not be decided by his own performances or by the level of Girona\u2019s interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather, it will also depend on how Barcelona\u2019s midfield picture develops over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barcelona youngster Brian Fari\u00f1as has emerged as one of the pleasant surprises of Hansi Flick\u2019s preparations, but his&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,19889,223,851],"class_list":["post-75553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-brian-farinas","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-frenkie-de-jong"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}