Although Alejandro Balde has been one of the best young left backs in world football, the Barcelona man’s performances have slipped in recent seasons, and with Joao Cancelo back in Blaugrana colors, a change could be coming for Hansi Flick.
As Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo notes, Flick has now left Balde out of the starting lineup in back-to-back games. Meanwhile, Cancelo was the best player on the pitch in Barca’s most recent La Liga encounter, a 3-0 win over Levante.
In that game, Cancelo assisted once and registered three key passes with three combined tackles and interceptions and three combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn in a great all-around performance.
Cancelo was previously at Barcelona and just joined them again in the winter transfer window, signing on loan for a second time in his career, now most recently playing for Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.
Although Balde is only 22 years old, his attacking output has never improved since his breakout 2022/23 season, and even his defensive work is stagnating. Cancelo offers more attacking options and can be an auxiliary midfielder on the left with his technical quality.
Flick may be planning a change in personnel here, so Balde’s and Cancelo’s situation will be worth watching in the coming weeks as Barca get ready for vital fixtures against Villarreal and Atletico Madrid in Spanish competition.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.