Jules Koundé Faces Challenge at Barcelona: A Fight for His Position

Jules Koundé is in a place he has never really known at Barcelona: on the outside looking in.

Since Hansi Flick walked through the door, the France international has seen his once automatic starting role slip away. The right-back spot that seemed reserved for him is now up for grabs, and others are taking their chance. For the first time in years, Koundé is fighting not just opponents, but the depth chart.

According to Catalan newspaper Sport, Flick has not viewed Koundé as a priority since June. Inside the club, the sporting department were open to listening to offers in the summer if the right bid landed. The defender, who previously resisted the idea of moving on, was no longer closed to an exit either. That alone marks a shift.

The early weeks of the season have only underlined the change. Koundé’s performances dipped last year and that slide has cost him. At right-back, team-mates have simply been sharper, more convincing, more in tune with what Flick wants. The hierarchy in that position has moved, and he knows it.

He also knows why. Koundé is under no illusions about his form. The standard he set in his best years feels distant, and the only way back, in his mind, is the hard way.

Nobody at the club questions his commitment. If anything, it stands out more now. The Frenchman has always chased peak condition, and when the ball is not rolling for him, he leans even harder into the physical work.

So when first-team training wraps up and most of the squad heads for the dressing room, Koundé stays put. According to Sport, he remains out on the pitches at the training ground, putting himself through extra drills with fitness coaches and physiotherapists. While others recover, he grinds.

His response to a reduced role is straightforward: add more hours. More gym work. More time at the sports city. More repetitions, more details, more sweat. No complaints, just labour.

This is not some sudden conversion. Koundé followed the same routine during the peak of his career, when major European clubs, Manchester City among them, were tracking his every move and waiting for an opening. The habits that once helped turn him into one of Europe’s most coveted defenders are the same ones he now leans on to avoid slipping further down the pecking order.

The difference is the backdrop. Before, the extra sessions were about climbing higher. Now they are about survival in Flick’s plans – and about proving that this dip is a phase, not a verdict.