Frenkie de Jong's serious knee injury has forced FC Barcelona into an early rethink of their plans for the new season, with Hansi Flick and the club's sporting department now assessing how best to replace one of the team's most influential midfielders.
Although the Dutch international's physical issues were known internally after the World Cup, the severity of the injury has come as a major setback.
With De Jong expected to miss around four months, Barcelona are preparing for the possibility of being without him for virtually the remainder of 2026.
Before De Jong's injury, Barcelona's transfer priorities were focused elsewhere. Deco had concentrated recruitment efforts on signing a new centre-forward, while the possibility of adding another central defender remained under consideration.
Reinforcing midfield was not part of the immediate plan and that stance is unlikely to change. In fact, Barcelona still plan on parting ways with Marc Casado just like they were before De Jong's injury.
This could pave the way for youngsters from within the academy ranks to step up.
Tommy Marques is first in line. (Photo courtesy: X/FCBarcelona_es)
Should Casado leave, Barcelona already have an internal candidate in mind .
Tommy Marques impressed Flick during several first-team training sessions last season and is regarded as a disciplined holding midfielder with strong physical attributes, positional awareness and defensive reliability.
The youngster even made his senior debut, playing two matches as a substitute. As such, the club's preference would be to promote Tommy rather than immediately enter the transfer market for a replacement.
Barcelona are also evaluating several other academy prospects during pre-season, with one of them being Guille Fernandez.
Guille Fernandez has always impressed Flick. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
The La Masia gem is highly regarded within the club after spending the past two summers working under Flick. Comfortable as both a central midfielder and a deeper playmaker, he combines technical quality, intelligent movement and attacking instincts.
The Catalans see him as an important long-term project, and a contract renewal is expected to be discussed soon .
Another player attracting attention is Brian Farinas and he could emerge as an in-house alternative to reinforce the midfield.
His proposed move to Girona had been virtually agreed, but Barcelona paused the transfer once the seriousness of De Jong's injury became clear.
Flick wants to assess the midfielder personally during pre-season before making a final decision on whether he should remain or leave.
Brian Farinas' move to Girona has been stopped. (Photo courtesy: X/FCBarcelonaB)
Farinas captained Barça Atletic last season and was one of the standout performers in the reserve team, making a case for a spot in the senior setup.
Barcelona have confidence in their academy talent, and unless something changes, signing an external replacement seems unlikely.
The final decision, though, will likely rest with Flick. If the German coach believes the squad lacks depth to remain competitive throughout the season, he could ask the sporting department to pursue a midfield reinforcement.
For now, Barcelona are more likely to bank on La Masia again, with the aforementioned three players in contention for a bigger role.
