Barcelona Eyes Azzedine Ounahi as De Jong Injury Alters Plans

Barcelona have turned back to a familiar name in their search for midfield cover, reviving interest in Girona’s Azzedine Ounahi as Frenkie de Jong’s injury forces a rethink of their transfer priorities.

Spanish programme "El Chiringuito" reports that the Catalan club are weighing up a move for the Morocco international, with the need for fresh legs in the middle of the pitch now pressing rather than optional. De Jong’s setback has not only left a tactical gap, it has reopened an old file in the Barça recruitment office.

Ounahi is hardly an undiscovered gem. He lit up the 2022 World Cup with Morocco, then did it again on an even bigger stage at the 2026 edition, driving the Atlas Lions to the quarter-finals with his energy, composure and ability to glide past pressure. Those tournaments turned him from a promising name into a fully fledged headline act, the kind of midfielder who changes the tempo of a game with one touch or one surge through the lines.

Barcelona noticed the first time. After his breakout in Qatar in 2022, the club circled, explored a deal and weighed his fit at Camp Nou. Talks never turned into a completed transfer and the move collapsed, leaving Ounahi to continue his rise elsewhere while Barça looked in other directions.

Now the situation feels different. De Jong’s injury has stripped away some of the club’s margin for error in midfield. The need is immediate. The profile they want – someone who can carry the ball, link play and press with intensity – matches Ounahi’s strengths.

There is a complication. Several clubs are chasing the Girona midfielder this summer, and he has yet to make a decision on his future. His performances for club and country have created a crowded market, and Girona know they are holding one of the window’s most attractive midfield options.

So Barcelona wait, study the numbers, and consider whether this is the moment to finally close a pursuit that has already spanned two World Cups. Ounahi, once a target who slipped away, now stands again at the edge of the Camp Nou stage. The question is whether Barça move decisively this time, or watch another opportunity drift into someone else’s midfield.