Eleven games, eleven wins. Barcelona top La Liga on 27 points after Saturday’s 5-2 win over Real Betis, and nine league victories in a row equal the club record from 1968/69. Flick’s side score for fun, but the dressing room afterwards looked like a treatment room.
Gerard Martín took a knock to the heel early on and went off at half-time. Eric García came on and limped off with a knee and quad problem, leaving ten men on the pitch. Jules Koundé reported minor issues. Andreas Christensen is already out with a torn thigh muscle for another month.
They now have Paris Saint-Germain away on Wednesday, and then Real Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou four days later. Nineteen-year-old Pau Cubarsí is the only fully fit senior centre-back.
Someone upstairs saw it coming. Fussball-news.de reports that sporting director Deco has opened direct talks with agent André Cury over Betis centre-back Natan, the man left out of Saturday’s squad. Deco first flagged the 25-year-old Brazilian in April and spoke to Cury in June.
Betis want £35m to £39m including add-ons, and they feel no pressure with him signed until 2030. They paid Napoli around £8m last summer, and he earns an estimated £40,000 a week. Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Juventus are only watching. Natan wants the move.
He is tall, plays left-footed and has made nine appearances so far this season for 781 minutes. He scored once, in the 2-1 win over Villarreal, and picked up three yellow cards. In La Liga, Natan has completed 353 of 373 passes, a 94 per cent rate that climbs to 96 per cent in the Champions League. He has also recorded 50 clearances, won 11 of his 12 tackles and made five blocks.
Natan’s main strength is his recovery pace to cover space behind a high line, 90th percentile for aerial duels, 79th percentile for defensive duels, and his calm under pressure. His main weakness lies in progressive passing and carrying, where he ranks in the 22nd percentile. As a result, he offers less progression through possession than Barcelona might want.
Currently, Cubarsí leads the Barcelona defensive line, Martín covers on the left, and Eric García and Koundé drop in from right-back. Frenkie de Jong has trained at centre-back after his knee return, and B-team prospect Álex Almeida should join the squad. Ronald Araújo left for Liverpool in the summer.
That raises the key question: Can Natan handle Hansi Flick’s high line at Barcelona? Yes, and the numbers back it up. Flick asks his centre-backs to defend near the halfway line, trust the offside trap and sprint backwards when it breaks. Natan’s height and recovery pace suit that job, and his 90th percentile aerial record will protect the Catalan club from long balls over the top.
On the ball, he gives Barca a left-footed option who rarely gifts possession. Missing only 20 of 373 passes in La Liga is the reliability our left side lacks while Christensen is sidelined. Alejandro Balde and Xavi Espart would get a cleaner passing lane too.
The problem is creativity. A 22nd percentile for progressive passing means Cubarsí would keep carrying the playmaking load, and tight pressing could make Barcelona predictable at the back.
Is £35m to £39m fair? For a 25-year-old tied down to 2030 who can start at once, we’d say yes. He won’t fix the crisis before Wednesday. He’ll fix the squad by January.
