Hansi Flick to use the upcoming pre-season to find a long-term partner for Pau Cubarsi in Barcelona defence | OneFootball

After a very successful 2024-25 season, in which they won the La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup titles, FC Barcelona players are set to return to start preparing for the next season on 13th July.

On this day, the players, who are currently enjoying their vacations or are busy with their respective national teams, will report to the Catalan club and undergo physical and medical tests before starting their training.

There are expected to be some changes in the squad that Hansi Flick will have on his hands for the start of the pre-season, as they are quite close to making some new additions to the squad, and some players could also have left by that time.

Barcelona looking for a long-term partner for Pau Cubarsi

The centre of the defence is one of the areas of the team that is currently facing the most uncertainty, as two players, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, are likely candidates for a sale. Similarly, Inigo Martinez’s contract is also going to end in 2026.

In such a context, SPORT reports that Barcelona are already considering their options to accompany Pau Cubarsi in the centre of the defence, and for this purpose, Flick is closely monitoring some of the best prospects in the academy.

Several youngsters will have an opportunity in the upcoming pre-season

In his first season in charge of the Blaugrana team, the German coach called up three players, i.e., Andres Cuenca, Alexis Olmedo, and Sergi Dominguez.

Cuenca made his debut with the first team in the UCL tie against Young Boys, but it was Dominguez who enjoyed the most opportunities with the first team as he played in several La Liga, Copa del Rey, and UCL games.

Similarly, he has also trained other young defenders like Landry Farre, Pedro Cortes, and Eman Kospo at different points in time.

Among these players, Farre is likely to be called up for the pre-season this year. It remains to be seen whether Cuenca and Olmedo will be called up once again this time, but Cuenca is being seen by Barcelona to be the one with the most potential, even though they understand he might need more training and physical growth.