Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick hopes that Dani Olmo will be able to make his debut in Saturday’s La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is hopeful that Dani Olmo will be available to make his debut for the club in Saturday’s La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao.
Olmo joined Barcelona from RB Leipzig on August 9, but he was denied the chance to make his debut against Valencia last weekend, having not yet been registered with La Liga.
It is understood that the Spain international is still not cleared to play at this moment in time, but Flick is hopeful that the situation will change to allow the 26-year-old to be in the squad against Athletic.
“It’s not my job to talk about registrations. I really like his work, he is ready to play. I hope he will be ready for tomorrow. He’s a fantastic player. I see him in training, under pressure,” Flick told reporters during his press conference on Friday.
Barcelona have offloaded Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City, while Mikayil Faye is believed to be closing in on a switch to Rennes, which could free up the space to allow Olmo to be registered.
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Flick is ‘hopeful’ Olmo will be able to face Athletic
Olmo, who represented Barcelona as a youngster, starred for Spain during Euro 2024, scoring three times and registering two assists in six appearances at the competition.
Barcelona will again be missing Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo and Ansu Fati through injury against Athletic, but Fermin Lopez is set to return to the squad, with the midfielder back in the fold after his exertions with Spain at both Euro 2024 and the Olympics over the summer.
“The impression is that he is ready to help. After the two tournaments, it was important for him to rest. He is ready to help. He hasn’t lost any form,” Flick told reporters before going on to say that he is “very happy” with his current squad despite only two new players arriving this summer.
“I am very happy, as I always say, with the team. I have spoken to most of the players, today I will finish talking to those I haven’t spoken to. It is important to define the situation of each one. The important thing is that everyone is excited to give their best. We are ready to face Athletic.”
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Christensen emerges as a doubt for Athletic game
Flick also revealed during Friday’s press conference that a late check would need to be made on the fitness of Andreas Christensen, with the centre-back unable to train with the group during the morning session.
“Obviously, we have already spoken, I have to say that he has some problems and today he trained alone. The way he is now he cannot help the team. Last year he played some games with problems and we have to look after him,” added the head coach.
“He is a very good defender and for the club, it is important to have him at 100%. He can’t help us at 80%.”
Barcelona opened their 2024-25 La Liga campaign with a 2-1 success over Valencia last weekend, with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice at Mestalla to help his side secure all three points.
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