De Jong must fight for Barcelona spot, says Flick ahead of Las Palmas clash

Hansi Flick has challenged Frenkie de Jong to earn his place in Barcelona's line-up as the Blaugrana prepare to take on Las Palmas in LaLiga on Saturday.

The 27-year-old midfielder was sidelined for several months this year due to a persistent ankle injury before returning to action in October.

De Jong has since made four appearances on the bench in the Spanish top flight and was withdrawn at half-time in a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad before the international break, his only start this season.

The Dutch international was also booed during Barcelona's 3-0 win against Brest in the Champions League on Tuesday.

“He has to deal with this situation. He has to regain his confidence,” Flick said.

“We look at every game to win. We want to play with the best team and based on that we make the eleven.

“He will come back, but it will take time. For me he was injured and now he is making good progress. Personally, three or four weeks ago when he started playing, he had a different mentality.

“Now he is back after the international break and we support him, but we have a lot of midfielders. Those who are at 100% will play. He has to show the level. He is making progress, we follow him and we support him.”

De Jong made 20 appearances and scored two goals for the club during the 2023/24 LaLiga season, despite ankle problems hampering his season on several occasions.

Leaders Barcelona are winless in two games in LaLiga, having also settled for a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo last week, but enjoy a four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand .

HANSI FLICK: “Lamine Yamal is back and he is ready to play. We haven't decided yet if he will start, but he will play.” #BarçaLasPalmas pic.twitter.com/nh048GMo6f

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 29, 2024

It is a marked difference in results for Flick's side, who had won 15 of their previous 16 league matches prior to their defeat to Sociedad.

Making things even more challenging for Barcelona is a series of five games in 19 days, which sees them play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and Atletico Madrid in LaLiga.

“I think I speak for the whole team when I say that the best thing you can do today is to win Saturday's match,” said the Barcelona boss.

“We don't care what happens next Tuesday or in Dortmund. What worries us and concerns us is the match against Las Palmas. We want to build on what we saw against Brest.

“We want to show this, also to the fans. The best players will play, and the ones who are the best.”

Flick will be boosted by the return of Lamine Yamal, who has missed the last three games.

Barcelona have not won a single LaLiga match without the 17-year-old in the starting XI. They won eleven games in which he started, lost twice and drew once in games in which he did not start.

“He's back, he's ready to play. I don't know if he'll start. But he'll play,” Flick said.

“I hope the team is well prepared. That was evident during the session. Some players are coming back. We are in a good situation.”