Flick's Barcelona defensive experiment: García at right-back

What Foot Mercato is reporting

Foot Mercato reports that Flick has been trialling García at right-back in pre-season training, a positional shift that would move the Spain international away from his natural centre-back role. The report is brief and comes from a single source, with no corroboration from Spanish outlets at the time of writing. Whether this is a permanent positional switch or a training experiment to cover for Koundé's situation is not confirmed.

García at right-back: does it actually work?

García is a composed defender who reads the game well and rarely gives the ball away under pressure, but he has spent the bulk of his career in the middle. He is not a natural wide defender. Playing him at right-back in a Flick system that demands high, aggressive full-back positioning would ask a lot of him, and whether he has the athleticism and crossing output to fill that role consistently is a fair question.

That said, Flick has form for asking outfield players to adapt. His Barcelona side last season showed a willingness to use positional flexibility as a feature rather than a fix, so the idea that García could be coached into the role is not as far-fetched as it first sounds.

What it means for Koundé

Koundé has been one of Barcelona's most reliable performers in recent seasons, and his natural position is a matter of some debate in itself. He came through as a centre-back, moved to right-back under Xavi, and has been effective in both. If Flick is now looking at García in that role, it either suggests Koundé is being shifted back into the centre, or that his availability is uncertain. Foot Mercato does not specify which.

Barcelona's defensive depth has been a recurring concern, and if Flick is genuinely considering García as a right-back option, it would give him more flexibility to use Koundé centrally alongside Pau Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez, which on paper is a strong back line.

One source, no confirmation

One source, no confirmation, and a story that may still be developing. Treat this as a thread to follow rather than a settled plan. If García does line up at right-back when Barcelona's season gets underway, the Foot Mercato report will look sharp in hindsight. For now, the most concrete implication is the one Foot Mercato leaves unresolved: where exactly Koundé fits if García takes the right-back slot.