Flick tells Barcelona superstar he is no longer a guaranteed starter as replacement shines | OneFootball

At 36 years of age, Robert Lewandowski continues to prove that age is just a number as he comfortably continues to be a key player in Barcelona’s plans.

Last season, the Polish star was one of the frontrunners for the Pichichi award for long and eventually lost it after an untimely injury at the tail end of the season. The same was expected to continue this season as well, especially with the club not signing a new number 9.

As relayed by AS in a recent report, however, Ferran Torres’ rise towards the end of last season and his strong start to the new campaign may well leave the Polish veteran without a guaranteed place in the XI.

Flick’s clear communication

As brought to light by the Spanish outlet, Flick highly values Torres’ rise and sees him as a player who can provide a similar, if not a better output, than Lewandowski.

The manager, thus, has already communicated to the former Bayern Munich star that he will compete with Torres directly for a place in the starting XI and that he will have no undisputed starter tag at the club.

Making the most of his chances. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

Both players will compete on equal terms without any preference or privileges.

Lewandowski has been a regular starter for Barcelona for three years now since his arrival and has proved to be a key contributor in each one of those.

Now a year older, however, Flick does not see the player’s physicality to cooperate as much, especially with the striker already injured before the start of the new season.

With 19 goals and seven assists playing as a regular substitute last season, Torres showed that he can be a valuable number 9 with versatility, and he even scored decisive goals, including in the comeback win against Atletico Madrid and the Copa del Rey final.

This time around, he will have a significantly improved presence as a starter, and the fact that he scored a golazo on Matchday 1 only shows that he is up for the challenge.