Hansi Flick Honesty Exposes Barcelona’s Concerns Over Marcus Rashford Transfer Snub

Flick had some brutal honesty for one of Barcelona’s new signings.

Hansi Flick (right) was a big fan of Marcus Rashford. | Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick raised concerns about new signing Karim Adeyemi after a debut against Birmingham City that was “not that good,” at the same time as revealing Marcus Rashford is already being “missed.”

Adeyemi played the first 45 minutes against Birmingham, with the match ending 2–2 after both teams scored once in either half. But where teenage Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim made the most of his opportunity with both Barcelona goals, Adeyemi has work to do.

Playing eight days after he officially signed from Borussia Dortmund, Adeyemi is still in the very early stages of preseason. Flick is not massively concerned by what he saw in England’s West Midlands because he has at least witnessed better from his German compatriot in training.

“Karim, some things he did were not that good. I think he has more potential to show, but he is still in the first week of training so that’s normal,” Flick summarized. “I’ve seen a better Karim in training with his speed and finishing, but he has a lot of potential and can give us a lot.”

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What Is Karim Adeyemi’s Role at Barcelona?

Karim Adeyemi started against Birmingham City. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Adeyemi, much in the same way as Anthony Gordon, has added depth to Barcelona’s flanks. 

But while Gordon might ultimately replace Raphinha—turning 30 before the end of 2026 and potentially still sellable—on the left, Adeyemi’s prospects of ever becoming a regular starter on the right are slim, because his competition is Lamine Yamal.

His job will likely be to relieve Yamal in less important La Liga matches, particularly those sandwiched between Champions League gameweeks, and Copa del Rey ties. Only in the event of injury to the teenager superstar is Adeyemi likely to get a consistent run of matches.

That means when his chance does come, Flick and Barça need him to perform.

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Barcelona Will ‘Miss’ Marcus Rashford

The bar for this kind of backup role to Barcelona’s preferred wing starters was set by Rashford, whose 28 goals and assists across all competitions helped in instances when either Yamal or Raphinha were unavailable. It was not always perfect, as it was suggested through reports towards the end of last season that the Catalans still wanted more from the England international off the ball.

Signing Rashford permanently didn’t make enough financial sense when Gordon was available for a similar annual expense and the 28-year-old has openly accepted he won’t be returning to Camp Nou for 2026–27 now that Adeyemi is also through the door.

Still, he appeared to leave a lasting impression on Flick.

“What I can say about Marcus is I appreciate working with him a lot,” the coach said.

“Sometimes it’s not always that you do know what happens with players who are on loan. I think our situation is not easy for that. He’s a fantastic player and a fantastic person. I think also the team miss him. I will miss him. But it’s life, this is what we have to accept.”

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