Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has pointed out that there is little he or Dani Olmo can do about the fact that the Euro 2024-winner is unavailable for them. The 26-year-old €62m signing has sat out two games already against Valencia and Athletic Club, and there was little suggestion of that changing before their Tuesday night clash against Rayo Vallecano.
Flick attended to the media on Monday ahead of that match, and explained that he had faith in Barcelona to get the job done. There was no confidence that the situation would be changing though, after news broke that Clement Lenglet, Vitor Roque and Mikayil Faye’s departures would not be sufficient to register Olmo.
“These are things that neither the player nor the coach nor the team can control. It would be great to have him in the team but we will see. We talked about the situation, we know that it is difficulty here in Barcelona. I believe in the club and I hope that we can register him for tomorrow’s game and have him in the squad. Any player who cannot play, obviously, for this reason he is not happy. But he knows why that is. I am sure that if he is on the list he will be 100% ready.”
There have also been rumours of possible arrivals in the shape of Almeria right-back Marc Pubill and Juventus winger Federico Chiesa in the final days of the transfer market, if they can sign players.
“I am not thinking about possible arrivals. I focus on the players I have now. I’m really happy and happy with them. If there are changes or it brings us more quality, fine, but I’m focused on the team,” Flick said pointedly.
Some of the ways to register Dani Olmo. @ffpolo
– WhiteBit to enter the Barça Vision business, negotiations are underway
– The Nike deal to be finalized
– Guarantees from President Laporta and other board members.— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 26, 2024
Flick’s side have started well, coming out of two tricky games with 2-1 victories, despite the lack of Olmo, and the late arrivals to the squad in terms of their internationals at Euro 2024, Copa America and the Olympics. They face Rayo Vallecano at 21:30 CEST at their traditional bogey ground Vallecas on Tuesday night, as they hope to take maximum points from their first three games.
