The young defender had trouble getting regular minutes this season, and he only started against Rayo Vallecano on Monday because Jules Koundéa was dismissed due to a disciplinary problem.
Strong was promoted to the first team of Barcelona last season by the coach of the time, Xavi Hernandez, who used it much more regularly than Flick. The German manager's decision has sparked some raises of eyebrows, even if the fact that Koundé was in a spectacular form throughout the 2024-25 campaign did not help.
It is not true that Flick does not count on strong – on the contrary, it is completely false, sport having opened on the dynamics between the two. Flick has “given private lessons” to Fort in recent months, according to the report. The idea of Fort is to allow this young player to learn and mature during the season. If a new right side arrives this summer, he will then have the opportunity to play regularly as a first team before returning to Barcelona in 2026.
Flick counts on Fort
Strong could have left Barcelona on loan during the recent winter transfer window, because clubs like Valence and Côme temporarily came to attach his services. However, the player himself refused the offers, which delighted Flick, who wanted the defender to stay in his team until the summer.
Strong started only three games for Barcelona this season, although the club won them all three (against Alaves, Espanyol and Rayo). Flick is satisfied with his evolution in the past few months, and the idea is that he continues to improve, whether or not he plays a lot of minutes by summer.
