Hansi Flick 'rejected' Barcelona's proposal to sign N'Golo Kante | OneFootball

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is reported to have "rejected" the opportunity to pursue a transfer for veteran France midfielder N'Golo Kante from Al Ittihad.

Barca have started the season without Gavi and Frenkie de Jong due to injuries leftover from 2023/24, while Ilkay Gundogan has also been sacrificed for financial reasons despite being the most reliable and available midfielder at the club last term.

Kante was initially linked with Barcelona earlier in the summer when it was suggested that he wants to return to Europe from Saudi Arabia and was a viable option to boost depth. But Flick also had 17-year-old La Masia product Marc Bernal at his disposal until the home-grown starlet suffered a dreaded ACL tear during Tuesday night's La Liga win over Rayo Vallecano.

Given that Bernal is expected to miss the rest of the season, the need for a midfielder is back. Andreas Christensen might have softened that blow, versatile enough to step up from central defence, but the Dane has been ruled out for a month or two and has even been reregistered with La Liga in order to make financial room for summer signing Dani Olmo.

But while Barca weigh up how to replace Bernal – either looking elsewhere within or turning back to the transfer market – it seems unlikely to be Kante. Mundo Deportivo reports that Flick was against the idea of signing the 33-year-old when it was previously mooted.

Barcelona have lost Marc Bernal to long-term injury / Soccrates Images/GettyImages

Given how much jumping through hoops has been required to add new players in three successive summers owing to the ongoing financial situation, promoting from within seems more plausible, especially with only two days of the transfer window left.

The most likely beneficiary for the need for midfielders is Marc Casado. The 20-year-old was involved from the start, alongside Bernal, when Barcelona beat Valencia on La Liga matchday one. But has been on unused substitute in the two games since, leapfrogged by Pedri.

Barca B teen Pau Prim could also now help plug the gaps in the first-team.