The right-back position has been Barcelona’s Achilles heel for a long time. Nelson Semedo, Sergi Roberto and Sergino Dest have all tried to recreate the success down the flank, but none came to fruition.
Last season, Xavi Hernandez opted to use Jules Kounde as his joker card. With ample centre-backs at his disposal, Xavi chose the French international to play at right-back and created the famous BACK defensive setup.
The 24-year-old did a solid job playing out of position for Barcelona with minimal fuss. However, it has always been clear that the player’s preference and best level lie at centre-back.
According to reports from SPORT, Xavi has promised Kounde that he will play as a centre-half this season.
This will come as music to the ears of the French international who has always been clear about his preference.
An impressive preseason run
Kounde made his first appearance for Barcelona this season in the game against Arsenal in the US.
Coming in as a halftime substitute, the youngster delivered a strong performance with six defensive actions albeit in a losing cause.
He returned to his mojo in the Clasico that followed. The 24-year-old played the full 90 minutes on the night, recording six blocked shots, two clearances, an interception, a tackle and a clearance off the line in the process.
His high level continued in the final preseason game against AC Milan when he once again started in central defence and managed eight defensive actions.
A possible shift in formation
Earlier this summer, reports brought to light that Xavi Hernandez had met with Kounde to discuss a possible change in role.
During the aforementioned meeting, the manager conveyed to the defender that he considered playing a three-man defence in the upcoming campaign with Alejandro Balde practically playing as a fourth midfielder.
Such an adaptation would guarantee Kounde minutes as a centre-half without altering the partnership of Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo that worked wonders for the team last season.
An alternate approach would be to maintain the 4-3-3 formation and sign a new right back this summer.
The Catalans are currently well placed to sign one of Ivan Fresneda or Joao Cancelo on that front and the coming days will be critical in finalising the recruitment.
