Birmingham City supporters who assumed Barcelona would arrive for their summer friendly without many established first-team players may have reason to think again.
Whenthe pre-season fixture was announced, the expectation was that the Club World Cup would leave Hansi Flick short of senior players for the trip to England.
However, Spanish newspaper Sport now believes several internationals eliminated from the tournament will return in time to be part of the training camp which includes the Birmingham City match.
Barcelona are due to begin pre-season on July 13, before travelling to England for a training camp running from July 27 to August 3. During that stay, they are scheduled to face Birmingham City on July 31.
Senior players expected back in time
Sport explains that all World Cup participants are due three weeks’ holiday after elimination, but three Barcelona players are currently on course to return before or at the start of the England training camp.
That leaves the following players with a realistic chance of featuring against Birmingham City on July 31:
Ronald Araujo – expected back from July 18 after Uruguay’s elimination
Frenkie de Jong – expected back around July 22 following the Netherlands’ exit
Raphinha – expected back around July 27, when Barcelona begin their England training camp
Provided there are no fitness issues or changes to Hansi Flick’s plans, all three could be available for the friendly.
However, Barcelona also have a large group of players still involved in the World Cup, meaning their availability for the England camp remains uncertain.
Those players are:
Joan Garcia (Spain)
Eric Garcia (Spain)
Pau Cubarsí (Spain)
Pedri (Spain)
Dani Olmo (Spain)
Gavi (Spain)
Lamine Yamal (Spain)
Ferran Torres (Spain)
Jules Koundé (France)
Anthony Gordon (England)
Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt)
The longer those nations remain in the tournament, the later those players will return for pre-season, making their involvement against Birmingham City increasingly uncertain.
Hansi Flick will want signings in
Sport says Flick is currently preparing to start pre-season with just nine senior first-team players, supplemented by academy prospects, before his squad gradually fills up as internationals complete their holidays.
For Birmingham City fans, though, the latest update suggests the July 31 meeting could be stronger than initially anticipated.
The expectation when the fixture was announced was that Barcelona would be heavily depleted, but the timing of the World Cup eliminations now appears to increase the chances of seeing established names such as Araujo, De Jong and Raphinha in action during the club’s England camp.
Hansi Flick will also want more signings in, with the possibly Birmingham City fans could see a debutant.