Hansi Flick confirms key Barcelona star is ready for Athletic Club – ‘He can play tomorrow’ | OneFootball

Speaking at a press conference ahead of their Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Club tomorrow, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has confirmed that key winger Lamine Yamal is ready to play.

The 17-year-old sensation missed the Catalans’ last game of 2024 against Atletico Madrid due to an ankle injury while he was not involved in the cup tie against Barbastro last week.

Lamine has been training for a few days now and as such, was named in the squad for the Super Cup, with the manager now confirming he is ready to play.

“I think he has trained three or four times. He is ready, he can play tomorrow,” said the Barcelona head coach.

However, at the same time, Flick confirmed that it was unlikely that Dani Olmo and Pau Victor would be registered in time to play against Athletic Club tomorrow night.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen tomorrow, but we’re going to wait. The only thing we can do right now is wait,” said the manager.

On being asked if the entire registration saga has made things difficult in the locker room, Flick replied:

“As I said before, it’s not so easy for us not to have two very important players for us. They have improved a lot. Dani Olmo is an excellent player, of course, we miss him.

“But we have to continue. Of course, it’s going to affect us, but this will give us the opportunity to be closer as a team. We have to show that we are a team.”

Lamine is ready but no Olmo for Barcelona. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

On whether the situation will affect Barcelona’s future endeavours in the transfer market and make players apprehensive about joining them, Flick said:

“I don’t know. What I can say is that we know what the situation is and how big this club is. When you know that, you sign for sure. It’s great to be able to work with people like that.”

Athletic Club and the Super Cup

On facing Athletic Club and how they will be a tricky opponent, the Barcelona head coach explained:

“Playing against Athletic is always difficult. They are a very good team, they have very good players and a very good philosophy. It’s good to see them play. They have very fast players and they play very well. It will be a very good game.”

After being told that Athletic Club’s star winger Nico Williams is a doubt for the match due to a fitness issue, Flick insisted that the Basque club are not about just one player.

“I didn’t know that, thank you very much for the information. They have a great team, they don’t depend on just one player,” he remarked.

Finally, talking about what it would mean for him and Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup, Flick said:

“I feel the team is ready and has the strength to focus only on this. We have to focus on tomorrow’s game and win it. In the end, when we win titles, it is very important for us and it means a lot. We are ready to show by playing a very good game.”

Source: AS