Do Hansi Flick statements suggest Barcelona are getting their transfer strategy wrong?

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has now been in charge of training for nearly two weeks at the club, and after giving a short interview with club media over the weekend, is set to be presented to the press on Thursday. The German coach will no doubt face questions about their transfer business, and his statements in that interview certainly invite more of them.

It has been made clear that Barcelona’s top target in the transfer window is Athletic Club winger Nico Williams, and even if they manage to bring in the Basque star, their next priority is reportedly RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo. Both of which are forward-thinking players.

Yet during that interview, Flick mentioned one particular position that it was important to have, and it was not one that either Olmo or Williams play.

“In the defensive phase it is vital that we are a compact team. For me it is important to have a defensive midfielder who is concerned about linking the team together, because it is important not to concede spaces to the opponent,” he told Barca One.

When Barcelona finished the most recent campaign, a holding midfielder was signalled as the priority for Xavi Hernandez. Now following his exit, it seems it has slid down their list of necessities, even if remains a priority for Flick too.

Undoubtedly Williams and Olmo are quality players, and would improve Barcelona, but they still had decent production up front from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal last season. Their biggest issue was the gaps in midfield exploited by Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, which they do not appear to be addressing.

Mikel Merino has been linked to the club, but it seems he will only be pursued after Williams, and perhaps Olmo too. Their current options are Frenkie de Jong, Oriol Romeu, Ilkay Gundogan, Marc Casado and Andreas Christensen, but none have proven adept at this level of doing the job described by Flick, albeit Casado is untested. Certainly the Blaugrana are running the risk of being undone by the same issue that plagued them all year last season.