What position will Jules Kounde play for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona?

The never-ending story of what position Jules Kounde will play at Barcelona has gained a new chapter thanks to the arrival of Hansi Flick, and with the French defender returning to the squad following his vacation after Euro 2024 and set to make his preseason debut against AC Milan on Tuesday, it was only a matter of time before the issue was brought up again.

Kounde has infamously played right-back against his initial wishes for most of his time at Barça under Xavi Hernández, a role which Jules performed mostly well despite his original reluctance. He then played a fantastic European Championships with France in that position in the summer, and it seems as though he will at least start the season in the same role for Hansi Flick.

Flick had tremendous success at Bayern Munich with Benjamin Pavard at right-back, a national teammate of Kounde’s who was also originally a center-back but grew into a very productive full-back. That seems to be Jules’ destiny under the German manager too, and Kounde was asked by the press about the possibility of playing at right-back for a third season in a row.

Kounde’s answer was the same we’ve heard before: he’s a center-back at heart, but he’ll always put the team first.

“I’ll go wherever the team needs me. I’ve spoken to the coach and told him i feel comfortable in either position. Last season I may have developed a bit as a full back, and I played there in the European Championship too, but centre back is still my favourite place. But I’m happy to go wherever I’m needed most.”

Source: FC Barcelona

The nice thing about Kounde’s quote is that it’s the real truth. He does put the team first and always plays right-back despite not really liking the position, and he has developed into a very solid one despite his wish to be a full-time central defender.

We don’t know Flick’s plans for Kounde yet, and the coach has been giving a lot of playing time to more attacking right-backs so far in preseason, with youngsters like Héctor Fort and even the left-footed Álex Valle given plenty of license to bomb forward when Barça have the ball, something Kounde did very little of under Xavi.

But maybe Flick will prefer a more cautious approach once the real season starts which would mean more playing time for a defensive full-back like Kounde, even though Jules showed during the Euros he can be a threat going forward too if needed.

Only time will tell if Kounde will finally be a full-time center-back as he so obviously wants, but he’s ready to play other roles again if the coach — and the team — need him to.