De Jong Needs To Prove More To Secure Starting Spot For Barcelona – Says Hansi Flick

Barcelona has stiff competition for places in midfield, and out-of-favour Frenkie de Jong must work to nail down a first-team spot at the La Liga club, manager Hansi Flick said on Friday.

De Jong has been out of action for several months this year due to a lingering ankle injury, which also prevented him from participating with the Netherlands and caused him to miss Euro 2024.

Since his return in October, the 27-year-old has largely featured off the bench, making just two starts, and he was booed during Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League win over French club Brest on Tuesday.

“He must deal with this situation. He must regain his confidence. We look at every game to win. We want to play with the best team, and based on that, we make the eleven,” Flick told reporters ahead of a home game against Las Palmas on Saturday.

“He will be back, but it takes time. For me, he was injured, and now he is progressing well. Personally, three or four weeks ago, when he started playing, he had a different mentality.

“Now he’s back after the international break and we support him, but we have a lot of midfielders. Those who are at 100% will play. He has to show the level. He is progressing, we follow him and we support him.”

Barcelona is eager to return to winning form in the league after a loss and a draw in their last two matches.

They will have teenage forward Lamine Yamal available for the upcoming game against Las Palmas, as he has returned from injury.

“He’s back, he’s ready to play. I don’t know if he will start. But he will play,” Flick said.

“I hope the team is well prepared. It showed in the session. Some players are coming back. We are in a good situation.”

Barcelona have a hectic run of fixtures coming up in December with five games in 19 days, including a Champions League game at Borussia Dortmund and a league match against Atletico Madrid.

“I think I speak for the whole team when I say that the best thing today is to win tomorrow’s game,” Flick said.

“We don’t care what happens next Tuesday or in Dortmund. What concerns us and occupies us is tomorrow’s game. We want to build on what we saw against Brest.

“We want to show this, also to the fans. Tomorrow the best players will play, and those who are the best.”