Gavi was the star of the Barça-Sevilla game. His return, together with Fermín's, left a clear message: Hansi Flick is not counting on Frenkie De Jong.
Three days before Barça-Bayern and six days before Real Madrid-Barça, two of the most important matches of the season, Flick showed his cards.
Frenkie De Jong is Not Here and is Not Expected
Until now, Frenkie De Jong had benefited from his transfer fee and from the fact that he's the highest-paid player in the squad. This has all ended with Flick, though.
He doesn't care how much Frenkie De Jong costs the club. For him, both Gavi and Fermín are ahead of him. With Casadó and Pedri as pivots—that's the idea—Lamine, Raphinha and Gavi or Fermín will form the attacking midfielders behind Lewandowski.
And Frenkie De Jong? He is not here and is not expected. He had already played minutes in two games to improve his fitness. But the day he could have been a starter to prepare for his starting role in the next two games, Flick has forgotten about him.
The subject is not without its gossip. And Flick was asked about Frenkie De Jong's "forgetfulness" against Sevilla.
"He could've played," but he didn't
Flick avoided excuses and got straight to the point: "He's not injured, he could've played today, but we decided to bring Gavi in. We've assessed him, we've looked at him, and we've decided to call Gavi up and it was a good decision."
And he added: "But Frenkie can play, he could've played today and he could play on Wednesday."
It's clear that Frenkie De Jong has been overtaken on the right and Gavi and Fermin have been put ahead of him . And just hours away from two top matches.
The performance of the youth players, especially in the midfield, calls into question Frenkie De Jong's presence in the team.
Laporta wants to sell him, but until now he hasn't found a coach willing to condemn him to the bench in order to pressure him into leaving. Flick is not ashamed. So far he hasn't seen anything in Frenkie De Jong that would force him to put him ahead of Gavi and Fermín.