Hansi Flick signals a Barcelona star’s exit as the club eyes a young talent to replace them in the starting lineup.
In an incredible twist at FC Barcelona, sources close to new manager Hansi Flick have revealed his plans to make Joan Garcia the starting goalkeeper next season, leaving club great Marc-André ter Stegen and possibly even other long-serving players in limbo.
If it plays out this way, it will represent a monumental shift in the club’s power structure and team chemistry.
Marc-André ter Stegen, who has been Barcelona’s first-choice goalkeeper since 2014, has been pivotal to the team’s success over the past years, making over 400 appearances and winning multiple trophies, including the Champions League.
Flick’s proposed decision could send ter Stegen searching for a new club in the not-so-distant future to turn into a number-one goalkeeper, and it also sends a powerful message about Hansi Flick’s approach to hierarchy and doing what is difficult, and following through on long-term thinking, over loyalty to a player who feels valued.
Joan Garcia, a 24-year-old Espanyol goalkeeper, has already shown reliability in his reflexes, command of his box, and poise and composure when the game is tight.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Flick is known to be very methodical and has already identified Joan Garcia as an integral part of his passive, high-pressing, and possession-based systems.
Hansi Flick was impressed by how Garcia distributes and intercepts attacks against Espanyol purposely because Garcia is of utmost importance in direct attack, with proper reflexes that aligned with Hansi Flick’s ideas, with both Sanchez and Garcia having the same fitness at the highest level of the game.
There’s been plenty of discussion about the decision among supporters and pundits.
Garcia has the potential, but replacing a goalkeeper such as Ter Stegen – a player who could be considered in their prime at 33 – is a risk.
Barcelona management has reportedly accepted Flick’s approach; however, nobody knows how this will influence the changing room dynamics.
As the season begins to unfold, we will be watching how Flick manages this transition.
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