Barcelona defender ‘particularly dull’ in the dressing room lately, two reasons speculated

Barcelona has one of the best defensive lineups in the world last season, at least in the league, as Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Alejandro Balde put up record-breaking numbers, keeping 26 clean sheets in 38 games.

The defensive quartet, affectionately known as ‘B.A.C.K.’ were expected to recreate their performances from last season, this time with Inigo Martinez and Joao Cancelo also in the mix after being signed in the summer.

Unfortunately, Barcelona have not even come close to mirroring their form this time around. They have conceded 24 goals already in the league — four more than the entirety of last season —, and are already out of the Copa del Rey.

The Catalans were thrown out of the competition by Athletic Club, who beat them 4-2 as the game reached extra time after 2-2. One of the players that put in a particularly underwhelming performance was Jules Kounde.

And that has been the case for most of the season, especially when the Frenchman has been playing as a centre-back.

The reason for that could be, as reported by SPORT, that Kounde is not particularly ‘joyful’ at the moment on a personal level.

The former Sevilla man is known to be a calm and private personality in the dressing room, but recently, he has been particularly ‘dull’, as the report says, and does not seem enthusiastic at all.

Returning to the right-back position could be one of the reasons for that. His dismay for playing in that role is well-known, but he has been shifted there again after Joao Cancelo’s injury.

Further, the outlet speculates that it could also be because of Franck Kessie and Ousmane Dembele’s departure, who were Kounde’s closest friends at the club.

Either way, Barcelona will be hoping that Kounde can return to form during the second half of the season before the club and the team takes more damage across the two competitions they are still a part of.