Flick backs Raphinha to lead Barcelona’s press from centre-forward role

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick says Raphinha’s hunger and mentality make him the ideal player to lead the team’s pressing as a number nine ahead of Saturday’s La Liga meeting with Sevilla.

Barcelona travel to Sevilla top of the table with 18 points from six matches, having won every game so far this season.

Raphinha has been used as a central striker from the start of the campaign, following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, the delayed arrival of Gabriel Jesus and Barcelona’s failure to sign their initial attacking target, Julian Alvarez, during the summer.

The Brazil international has quickly excelled in the position, scoring nine goals in six matches to sit at the top of the league’s scoring charts.

“When you look at the last two seasons, you will see that we always began the pressing process from the number nine position,” Flick said at his news conference on Friday, as reported by AS.

“Raphinha has the hunger, desire and mentality we need to start pressing in the way we want.

“He is not only performing at a high level in attack; he is also doing an excellent job defensively. Raphinha starts the pressing and, as captain, he leads from the front while the others follow him.”

Flick confident in Adeyemi

Flick also praised new signing Karim Adeyemi, although he stopped short of describing the Germany international as the fastest player he has coached.

“He is very fast, but I do not know whether he is the fastest among all the players I have coached. Alphonso Davies has similar speed,” Flick said.

The Barcelona manager added that Adeyemi had made a positive impression in the dressing room and was already well respected by his team-mates.

“He is a good young man and a great person. He has a lot of respect in the dressing room and everybody likes him a lot. His performances in matches also make things easier,” Flick said.

Flick believes the move to Barcelona came at the right time for Adeyemi after what he described as a difficult period for the player in Germany.

“I think he was not going through his best period in Germany, so it was better for him to change his surroundings and move to another country,” he said.

The manager concluded by reiterating his faith in the forward and expressing his satisfaction that Adeyemi had chosen Barcelona.

“I am very happy that he chose us. I will give him confidence and I believe in Karim 100%. We will see more performances like the one he produced on Wednesday,” Flick said.