Marc Casad\u00f3\u2019s journey at Barcelona this season has been a rollercoaster. Once a key figure in the first team during Frenkie De Jong\u2019s absence, the young midfielder has seen his playing time drop dramatically, prompting him to adapt in order to stay relevant.<\/p>\n
Casad\u00f3, 22, was a regular starter in the early stages of last season, featuring in 29 of 36 matches before a knee injury in March sidelined him. This year, he has appeared in 13 games across all competitions, starting nine, and has been used in a variety of positions, most recently as a right-back in Barcelona\u2019s Copa del Rey opener against Guadalajara. \u201cI have always tried to be ready for the team,\u201d he said, showing a mature attitude toward the changes in his role.<\/p>\n
The shift to right-back is not entirely new for Casad\u00f3. During the 2023-24 season with Bar\u00e7a Atl\u00e8tic under Rafa M\u00e1rquez, he occasionally played in the defensive role while still being deployed primarily as a midfielder. This versatility is now his key asset, as competition in the center of the park has intensified with the returns of De Jong, Marc Bernal, and the rise of Eric Garcia, who has proven himself capable both in defense and midfield. According to SPORT<\/a>, Casad\u00f3\u2019s willingness to embrace this reinvention demonstrates his commitment to convincing Hansi Flick that he belongs in the first team.<\/p>\n Still, Barcelona\u2019s midfield remains stacked, and Flick has been cautious about trusting Casad\u00f3 as a starter. In recent matches, even with absences like De Jong\u2019s suspension and Pedri\u2019s injury, Flick has often preferred other options. A growing lack of faith led to speculation last month about a potential loan in January, with Mallorca showing interest. However, Casad\u00f3 is reportedly not convinced that Mallorca is the right destination, aiming instead for a loan that guarantees both playing time and a fit with his style and aspirations if he can\u2019t find minutes with his parent club.<\/p>\n The match against Guadalajara highlighted the potential of this new role. Casad\u00f3 completed 69 of 71 passes, won four duels, and made five recoveries, while also showing a clear offensive presence on the right flank. His performance suggested that adapting to a different position could open doors for more consistent minutes in the first team, particularly as Jules Kound\u00e9 remains the undisputed starter at right-back and Eric Garcia continues to rotate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marc Casad\u00f3\u2019s journey at Barcelona this season has been a rollercoaster. Once a key figure in the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[49042,403,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-355921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-barcelona-news","9":"tag-soccer","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}