birmingham city Supporters who assumed Barcelona would arrive for summer friendlies without many established first-team players may have reason to think again.
When? Pre-season fixtures announcedThe expectation was that there would be a Club World Cup Leave Hansi Flick behind senior players To travel to England.
However, the Spanish newspaper game There is now confidence that many of the international players ruled out of the tournament will return in time to be part of the training camp which also includes the Birmingham City match.
Barcelona are scheduled to start pre-season on July 13, before heading to England for a training camp running from July 27 to August 3. During that stay, they are due to face Birmingham City on 31 July.
Senior players hope that time will come back
Sport reports that all World Cup participants are to receive three weeks off following elimination, but three Barcelona players are currently set to return before or at the start of the England training camp.
This gives the following players a realistic chance of playing against Birmingham City on July 31:
- ronald araujo - Expected to return from July 18 after the elimination of Uruguay
- frankie de jong - Expected to return around July 22 after Netherlands exit
- Rafinha - Expected to be back around July 27, when Barcelona begin their England training camp
Provided there are no fitness issues or changes to Hansi Flick's plans, all three could be available for the friendly.
However, Barcelona still have a large group of players involved in the World Cup, meaning their availability for the England camp remains uncertain.
Those players are:
- john garcia (Spain)
- eric garcia (Spain)
- pau kubarsi (Spain)
- Pedri (Spain)
- dani olmo (Spain)
- Gavi (Spain)
- Lamin Yamal (Spain)
- ferran torres (Spain)
- Jules Conde (France)
- Anthony Gordon (England)
- Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt)
The longer those countries remain in the tournament, the sooner those players will return for pre-season, making their participation against Birmingham City uncertain.
Hansi Flick would like to sign in
Sport say Flick is currently preparing to start pre-season with just nine senior first-team players, complemented by academy prospects, before his squad gradually fills out as international players complete their holidays.
However, for Birmingham City fans, the latest update suggests that the July 31 meeting could be stronger than initially anticipated.
Barcelona were expected to be heavily outnumbered when the schedule was announced, but with the World Cup now over, the chances of seeing established names such as Araújo, De Jong and Raphinha during the club's England camp have increased.
Hansi Flick would also like to make more signings, perhaps Birmingham City fans could see a newcomer.
