Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has said new signing Dani Olmo is not fit enough to take part in Saturday’s LaLiga opener at Valencia amid ongoing doubts about when he will be registered with the league.
Olmo, 26, joined Barça this summer for an initial fee of €55 million ($60.4m) from RB Leipzig and trained with the team for the first time last Saturday.
“At the moment, Dani is not in the right fitness for the game against Valencia,” Flick said in a news conference ahead of his first competitive game in charge of Barça.
“He is not an option. He started very late to the preseason preparation and now we take care of him. For us, it’s important that all the players playing have no injuries, that’s the most important thing.”
Olmo may not have been able to play even if he was fit with his signing still not registered with LaLiga.
The Catalan club remain in excess of their annual spending cap and until they raise money — either through transfers or new revenue streams — are not able to inscribe the Spain international with the league.
Pau Victor, a new arrival from Girona, also find themselves in a similar position to Olmo ahead of the match at Mestalla as Barça rush to ensure Flick has as many players available as possible. Iñigo Martínez, who was only registered for one year last summer, was registered only on Friday.
“We cannot change anything about that,” Flick added when pressed on Barça’s problems registering all their players before the first game of the campaign for the third season running.
“No excuses, no complaining, it’s just about the now. I made many experiences in my past and I arrived here with this situation. I accept what I cannot change. And this is it.”
It means further signings before the transfer window closes at the end of the month will be difficult, but Flick insists he is content with the players he has as the club work on strengthening the squad if possible.
“I am happy with the players I have actually,” he said. “That is the important thing. The other things [signings], we don’t know. When I signed the contract here, I know it’s not so easy, but I trust and believe in the club.
“I think we are a really strong, good team. We have high quality with and without the ball. Football is all about to win or to lose. We will prepare well for each match and see what happens. It’s always a process.”
Flick confirmed Lamine Yamal will be available to face Valencia after his father was stabbed multiple times in Mataró, a town up the coast from Barcelona, earlier this week.
Mounir Nasraoui remains in hospital, where he gave an interview on Friday saying he is recovering well.
Pedri will also be in the squad after returning to training this week, but Frenkie de Jong, Ansu Fati, Gavi and Ronald Araújo remain sidelined with injuries.
“I am very happy to have Pedri back,” Flick said. “He is a special player who totally changes the team. He’s an option for the second half and he can help us.
“I think not so early [for De Jong and Fati]. We plan for after the international break. I am looking forward to have both of them, but we have no special date when they come back.
“Gavi is good but he needs time. It’s not the right moment to say here or here he is coming back. There is no pressure on him. He’s 20 and can play 10,15 years more, maybe without injury, so we have to take care of him now for his future.”
Araujo, meanwhile, is not expected back until the end of the year after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury last month.
Source Agencies
