Barcelona coach Hansi Flick hopes summer signing Dani Olmo will be registered in time to face Athletic Club in LaLiga at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
Olmo, 26, joined Barça from RB Leipzig for €55 million ($61m) earlier this summer but has not yet been able to make his debut due to the club remaining in excess of their league-imposed spending limit.
Barça are working against the clock to ensure Olmo is available this weekend, with Ilkay Gündogan‘s transfer to Manchester City freeing up some space for registrations, although it’s not clear if it will be enough.
“This is not my job,” Flick said in a news conference on Friday when asked if Olmo would be registered for the Athletic fixture.
“Dani’s ready to play. We’re waiting for [him to be registered]. Hopefully, [on Saturday] he’s on the team because that would help us a lot.
“He’s an outstanding player. You can see in training, when he’s under pressure, around the goal, he’s unbelievable. It’s good to have him on the team as soon as possible.”
In addition to the departure of Gündogan, Barça are also working on deals that would see striker Vitor Roque and defender Mikayil Faye leave the club imminently.
Clément Lenglet, Ansu Fati and Eric García are among the other players who could leave before the transfer window closes, with sources telling ESPN Barça are keen to add a left winger and a full-back to the squad if they can afford to after registering Olmo.
ESPN reported this week that Federico Chiesa is a target to strengthen the attack, with Marc Pubill and João Cancelo options at full-back, but Flick insisted he is only thinking about the players already at the club.
“I am always focused on the team I have now, OK?” he added. “These are the things you can change. To make too many thoughts about other things is not good.
“The team I have is good quality. I can see that all the players are having fun, to train with us, to give the best quality they have. This helps us to increase and I think we will be well prepared for Athletic.”
Flick kicked off his spell as Barça boss with a 2-1 win away at Valencia last weekend, but Athletic, who finished fifth last term, may pose a bigger test at the Olympic Stadium this weekend.
The Basque side’s attack is led by Nico Williams, the Spain winger who Barça were keen on signing this summer.
“On this side we have an experienced player, so I can say that Jules [Koundé] will take care of him,” Flick said when asked about Williams and Barça’s interest in him.
“To speak about him is not my job because he’s not our player. The focus is more how we play him because he’s a good player, so I think Jules will make a good job.”
Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde, meanwhile, said it’s time to turn the page on the Williams-Barça links with the forward looking set to remain in Bilbao for at least one more year.
“There is an obsession with this story,” Valverde said in a news conference. “You can keep stretching things out many times, but come on, let’s let it go now.
“He’s training well and there is no problem for us in that sense. There’s been a lot of noise, but that’s all it is. He’s filled newspapers and news bulletins, but nothing else. It’s part of the game.
“It’s nothing new in the world of football, stories about clubs wanting players. The reality is Nico is with us and he is happy. He came back for preseason happy, took the No.10 shirt … and now let’s play.”