{"id":78304,"date":"2026-08-31T11:47:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/78304\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T11:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:47:14","slug":"barcelona-defender-facing-tough-fight-as-hansi-flick-makes-major-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/78304\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona defender facing tough fight as Hansi Flick makes major decision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jules Kounde\u2019s position at Barcelona has changed considerably at the start of the 2026\/27 campaign, with the French defender facing a fight for regular minutes and the club still open to a late transfer if the right offer arrives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sport.es\/es\/noticias\/barca\/kounde-debera-picar-piedra-protagonismo-133768238\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">SPORT<\/a>, Kounde is no longer guaranteed a place in Flick\u2019s starting XI despite previously being one of the coach\u2019s most trusted players.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As previously reported, a <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/versatile-spain-international-could-become-barcelonas-primary-right-back-this-season-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">tactical decision involving Eric Garcia<\/a> has influenced the defensive picture and left the France international facing stronger competition for minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Eric Garcia\u2019s rise changes Kounde\u2019s role<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flick has settled on Garcia as his preferred option at right-back after using the Spaniard in several positions last season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garcia spent much of the previous campaign filling gaps wherever Barcelona needed him, appearing as a centre-back, full-back and even in midfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786694589_862_real-oviedo-v-fc-barcelona-laliga-ea-sports-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Jules Kounde of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-208650\"  \/>Kounde is no longer untouchable at Barcelona. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flick now believes the player\u2019s characteristics are better suited to a permanent role on the right side of defence, a decision that has effectively <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/exit-linked-barcelona-defender-could-return-to-his-original-position-this-season-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">pushed Kounde back into central defence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On paper, that should have suited the Frenchman since centre-back is the position in which he has traditionally been most comfortable, and he had previously expressed his preference for playing there after joining Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem is that the competition in the middle has become intense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Right now, Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin have established themselves as the leading central defensive partnership at the beginning of the season, while Andreas Christensen has also strengthened his position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kounde therefore <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/veteran-defender-no-longer-untouchable-as-barcelona-open-to-major-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">finds himself competing<\/a> in a position that is already well supplied.<\/p>\n<p>Kounde\u2019s limited minutes tell the story<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"689\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/deportivo-alaves-v-fc-barcelona-laliga-ea-sports-2-1024x689.jpg\" alt=\"Jules Kounde of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-210427\"  \/>Kounde is yet to start in La Liga this season. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The impact of Flick\u2019s reshuffle has already been visible in La Liga.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kounde has featured for just 20 minutes across Barcelona\u2019s opening two league matches, which is a surprisingly small involvement for a player who had been a regular fixture in the team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sure, it is still early in the season, and the Frenchman\u2019s versatility means he can provide Flick with solutions in more than one position. But the initial selection pattern is difficult to ignore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Furthermore, the club has not completely closed the door on a departure and <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-open-door-to-versatile-defenders-exit-if-the-right-offer-arrives-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">would consider a significant offer<\/a> if the financial conditions were right.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, that does not mean Barcelona are actively pushing Kounde towards the exit, but they are prepared to listen during the final days of the window.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jules Kounde\u2019s position at Barcelona has changed considerably at the start of the 2026\/27 campaign, with the French&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,548],"class_list":["post-78304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-jules-kounde"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78304","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=78304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}