After an opening to the year that was relentless in terms of drama surrounding the club, Barcelona are set for a quiet end to the January transfer window. The initial noise surrounded Dani Olmo and Pau Victor as they deregistered after the League deadline, but the Blaugrana have been granted an emergency injunction to allow them to remain registered while they argue their case in court that they should not be deregistered should have come.
Yet Victor and Olmo have been limited in their contributions, having missed matches against Barbastro and Athletic Club due to the registration saga. Olmo was held back by injuries. His only start came against Real Betis before suffering another injury after their clash with Getafe. Meanwhile, Victor remains on the sidelines due to technical decisions. He got just 18 minutes against Real Betis in Barcelona's last eight games.
Victor started the season well, scoring and assisting in the first 115 minutes of La Liga action. Although he only started the entire season once in September, his cameos have been reduced as of late. During the registration uncertainty, Betis emerged as a potential loan destination, but MD says the club are not now considering an exit, and neither is Victor. Manager Hansi Flick would like to keep him until the end of the season.
Victor has cut his teeth as a central striker, finishing as top scorer in the third tier last season while on loan to Barca Atletic. However, Flick has used Victor almost exclusively from wide areas, opting for Ferran Torres through the middle when Robert Lewandowski was replaced or rested. A positive sign for the 22-year-old is that he is ahead of Ansu Fati in the pecking order, with the latter left out of Barcelona's last four squads.
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