Hansi Flick confirms plan for Barcelona teenager to stay with first team

Barcelona picked up a 3-1 victory over Vissel Kobe in their first match of their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea, in what was a match dominated by new faces impressing.

Eric Garcia scored the opener for last season’s La Liga champions, and in the second half, there were goals for teenage debutants Roony Bardghji and Dro. As per Diario AS, head coach Hansi Flick gave his thoughts on the match, and he also touched on several individuals.

“It was a great game, although we didn’t know if we were going to come first. The first 30 minutes were very good and then we made some mistakes and lost control. The second half was fantastic. I have to say thank you for the welcome to Japan, I’m happy. We played against a good opponent and with a good philosophy”

“We have a lot of players from La Masia, like last year. Dro and Jofre have been very good. The goal is for everyone to play 45 minutes, but Rashford had not been training with the ball as much. We also wanted Gerard Martin to play a few minutes after the injury.”

Flick confirms plan for Roony to remain in first team fold

Flick also spoke on Roony, whom he expects to remain with the first team for the upcoming season.

“The plan is that Roony stays in the first team. It will depend on him. You can see their level in each training. Like Joan García, Marcus Rashford… We have to improve, it won’t be an easy season for us, neither was the previous one and we had to fight to win the titles.”

Initially, the idea was for Roony to be used across both the first team and Barca Atletic, but as things stand, he could be a permanent fixture in Flick’s squad.