Barcelona coach Hansi Flick says Alejandro Balde must improve after the defender indicated his desire to stay at the club.
Balde was left out of Barça’s squad for Sunday’s 5-0 win over Elche in LaLiga after Flick suggested he was open to letting the left-back leave this summer.
Manchester United are among the clubs to have sounded out a move for Balde, sources have told ESPN, but the player wants to fight for his place at Spotify Camp Nou.
“He’s a part of the team, so if he plays or not we will decide tomorrow,” Flick said of Balde’s chances of returning to the squad for Thursday’s visit from Athletic Club.
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“What I can say is I spoke with him. For me, the important thing is that he’s 100% committed with us and 100% committed with the situation.
“He’s only 22, he’s very young for a player and has a lot of potential. I saw in his first season what a fantastic player he is. Now is time to improve more.”
Balde has made 168 appearances for Barça since making his debut in 2021 but lost his place in the team to João Cancelo at the backend of last season.
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During preseason, he has also faced competition from Jordi Pesquer and Xavi Espart, with the latter, primarily a midfielder, starting at left-back against Elche as Barça kicked off their defence of LaLiga in style.
Flick’s side will look to make it two wins from two this week when they host Athletic, with €60 million ($70m) signing Rodri in line to make his debut after he began training with the team this week.
“The plan is that he plays some minutes,” Flick confirmed, before talking about the possibility of pairing the former Manchester City man with Pedri.
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“We also play with [Marc] Bernal in this position, but of course Rodri has more experience, he’s a leader,” the German coach said.
“Together with Pedri, he has that experience to control the game, the ball, the opponent. This is important.
“This is what we need. Everyone knows Rodri is one of the best and together with Pedri, we will enjoy seeing them play together for Barça.”
