Inside Barcelona: Alvarez/Etta Eyong links, Ter Stegen’s future, and Roony repays Flick’s faith – The Athletic
Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Barcelona, our weekly series to follow throughout the 2025-26 La Liga season.
Every week, we will bring you information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Barca with reporting you can trust.
What’s the biggest talking point at Barcelona right now?
Barca are great again!
OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but Hansi Flick’s team look much improved from the team that struggled at the start of the season.
Two weeks ago, after they lost to Chelsea in the Champions League following a disappointing performance, Flick said he was feeling optimistic about his side and that some progress was being made. The German’s words left many in the local media staggered at the lack of criticism towards poor displays. Since then, however, Barca have enjoyed their best two weeks of the season so far.
They outplayed Real Betis in Seville on Saturday, winning 5-3. The game was effectively done and dusted before half-time, when Barca went 4-1 up thanks to a hat-trick from Ferran Torres and a stunning effort from bright spark Roony Bardghji. Lamine Yamal added the fifth from the penalty spot in the second half, before the hosts got two goals back late on.
Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick against Betis (Jose Luis Contreras/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Barcelona looked dominant once again after a week in which they also beat Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou. The high press was effective, left-back Gerard Martin impressed once more at centre-back, and Pedri proved he has returned like never before, putting in a fine performance.
But the win took on even greater importance when Real Madrid dropped three more points in their shock defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday night. That means Barca are now four points clear at the top of La Liga, when five games ago they finished El Clasico at the Bernabeu five points behind their fierce rivals from the Spanish capital.
Atletico Madrid lost ground on them, too, as they were defeated by Athletic Club in Bilbao. Villarreal were the only other team in Spain’s top four to win this weekend.
What else did we learn from Saturday’s game?
This was another statement performance from Yamal. Flick used the 18-year-old in a new position — at No 10 — and it worked. He was involved in the build-up for the first and third goals against Betis, scored the fifth, and was unstoppable in the No 10 role — as we discussed in this piece here.
Roony was another huge winner after the Betis game. The Sweden international was the surprise name in Flick’s line-up and repaid his trust with a great display from the right. The 20-year-old staked his claim for a more significant role as part of Barca’s rotation players with a goal and an assist.
Meanwhile, the Martin experiment at centre-back continued to work well. Using the 23-year-old in that position is no longer just a timely solution, they cannot afford to drop him. The graduate from La Masia is disciplined in keeping the high line, shows a great understanding with Pau Cubarsi, and provides Barca with plenty of solutions in building attacking play.
A meme that did the rounds on Barca social media a few weeks ago called him Gerard Maldini. Martin told club media that his team-mates have been using that nickname for him too. Far-fetched? Perhaps. But those jokes will not stop anytime soon if he keeps this up.
“It’s a position I tried out in pre-season, and I feel comfortable there,” Martin told a press conference on Monday before Barcelona’s Champions League meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt. “I don’t have a preference, I’m fine there. I’ll play wherever the manager tells me to.
“I had already played there for a year or two, but in a back five. Things are similar. One very important thing is the ball movement because of how we play.”
Martin was also asked whether he had looked up to Inigo Martinez, who left for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in the summer after two seasons in Barca’s defence.
“He was a great leader,” Martin said. “In terms of video and analysis, I’ve looked up to him to improve.”
What is the latest on Barcelona signings?
On Wednesday, sporting director Deco gave an interview to local radio station Cadena Ser, where he said he was not keen on bolstering the squad in January.
“It’s very difficult to find players who improve the squad in January,” he said. “We have successful examples in the club, such as the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (from Arsenal in February 2022). But that was a particular case, with Aubameyang being in conflict with Arsenal, and we got a good deal. Now, I don’t see any cases like that.”
The feeling inside the club is that Ronald Araujo’s unknown return date and his indefinite leave are the only factors that could potentially change Barcelona’s approach in the coming transfer window if they decide to add a new defender. We’ll see what happens.
A day later, president Joan Laporta spoke to newspaper La Vanguardia at another event, backing up Deco’s perspective on the January window, but adding “Barca are ready to invest in a big signing”.
And finally, on Friday, the club organised their traditional Christmas dinner, with all local reporters invited. During these informal meetings, the club’s most senior figures tend to be present and hold court with the journalists in attendance, responding to their questions on condition of anonymity.
Senior club sources were asked about future signings, with Julian Alvarez’s name coming up. Barca admitted they see it as very difficult to enter negotiations with Atletico Madrid and reach a potential agreement for the 25-year-old Argentina striker. They estimate the cost of any deal at close to €200million. At that price, Barca sources say a deal will not happen.
Those voices named another player as being of interest: Karl Etta Eyong. The 22-year-old Levante striker has been monitored by Barca since last summer, when he was offered to them at a reduced price as he had an exit clause at his then club Villarreal. The Catalans decided not to move for the Cameroon international as they were experiencing problems with their salary limit, while Robert Lewandowski was entering the final year of his contract.
Karl Etta Eyong has scored five times in nine La Liga appearances this season (David Aliaga/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
But Etta Eyong’s name is still on the table. He joined Levante in the summer and his current deal includes an exit clause in the region of €30m. Barcelona are well aware of it and Etta Eyong has impressed with five goals in nine La Liga appearances this season, but there is still a long way to go until the summer.
What’s going on with Marc-Andre ter Stegen?
Goalkeeper Ter Stegen is training with his team-mates again and in the final stages of his recovery from the back surgery he underwent last summer. You will remember the controversy that saga caused at the time.
The 33-year-old Germany international has not received medical clearance to play again, but he is on the right track and expected to receive that all-clear in the coming weeks. Flick told his press conference before the Eintracht game that Ter Stegen could return to the squad for that match.
Barca’s plan for him has not changed, though. Ter Stegen is expected to continue as a backup option, with club sources insisting summer signing Joan Garcia is No 1 — which is also supported by Flick. The coach has been very pleased with Garcia since he arrived from city rivals Espanyol and has labelled him as the club’s goalkeeper for the next 10 years. “I’m clear on this, Joan is my No 1 goalkeeper,” Flick told his press conference on Monday.
In Barca’s senior offices, sources admit that Ter Stegen’s significant contract, which runs until 2028, is seen as a problem. But they will have no option other than honouring that deal if Ter Stegen wishes to stay.
Barca would ideally like the goalkeeper to actively search for a move next month, even on loan. The prospect of being Germany’s No 1 for next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico could motivate Ter Stegen to leave as he searches for the game time needed to convince national team manager Julian Nagelsmann.
Even so, the last we heard from the player’s camp was that he had no intention to leave Barca before the end of this contract. Watch this space.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is training with his Barcelona team-mates again (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
What should we look out for this week?
Barcelona face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League tomorrow (Tuesday), hoping to improve their situation in the competition — they are 18th in the league phase, with seven points after five games, in the unseeded play-off places.
But Barca have another aim in that game: avoiding a repeat of the scenes witnessed in April 2022, when Eintracht beat them in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final at the Camp Nou. Thousands of German fans were in attendance that night, almost turning Barca’s stadium into a home ground for Eintracht’s players. The sight of the many Eintracht fans celebrating Barca’s elimination was seen as a travesty in Catalonia.
The club have confirmed that, for this game, they will only sell tickets to their own members. There will be a space for away fans, but no tickets apart from that will be sold to the general public to avoid a repeat of that embarrassing situation three years ago.
Barca will also monitor what their own members do with their tickets. They will only be sent through the club’s official app and it will not be possible to transfer them to another user. Barca have already spotted irregular activity with 300 members who potentially tried to resell their tickets and are planning on taking action against those who attempt to do that.
Additional reporting: Laia Cervello Herrero
