Hansi Flick blocked Barcelona’s move for N’Golo Kanté to focus on youngsters – report

Ever since he took over as Barcelona’s first team coach, Hansi Flick spoke glowingly of the club’s young talent and how he wanted to give players from the youth academy a chance to show their talent and earn a spot in the first team.

Flick has more than walked the walk so far not only by giving plenty of minutes in preseason to the youth, but also by making some important decisions in the transfer market. That’s according to a report from Mundo Deportivo, which claims that Flick blocked a move for French midfielder N’Golo Kanté in recent days to focus on young players such as Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal, who have shined so far in preseason.

Kanté wants to leave his club in Saudi Arabia to return to Europe and Barça sporting director Deco quickly approached the player’s agents to propose a loan deal, according to the report, but his advances were quickly shut down by Flick who favors a rejuvenation of the squad and is happy with the progress of Bernal and Casadó in the pivot position.

Even though Kanté showed he’s still got plenty left in the tank with his performances for France at Euro 2024, he is 33 years old and that was the deciding factor in Flick’s preference for a younger profile, the report says.

Flick still hasn’t been able to work with Frenkie de Jong and Gavi, who are believed to be his two favorite options for the pivot role once they return from injury, and the coach thinks Casadó and Bernal can help fill in for the two stars until they are ready to come back.

There is still almost a month left in the transfer window and a lot can still change, but so far it looks as though Barça are not in a rush to sign a new holding midfielder and Flick is rejecting some big names to bet on the youth.