Khaberni - Portuguese Deco, the sports director for Barcelona, revealed that his club does not plan to make any new signings in the upcoming winter transfer window.
Deco pointed out that all the team's deals for the 2026 season will take place next summer.
Barcelona only added three players in the last summer transfer window, namely goalkeeper Juan Garcia, Marcus Rashford, and Roni Bardge.
Deco, in statements published by the British "Mirror" newspaper, said: "If we are doing well and there are no surprises, I don't think it is necessary (to make winter signings)."
He added: "We know exactly the areas of improvement and the difficulties we face, last season we also went through difficult moments and managed to overcome them."
Deco continued: "When we ease the intensity of play, we suffer, we need the best players, there are no excuses, but when we can't make changes due to injuries affecting our midfield, there are things that need to be improved even when winning."
Barcelona is preparing to face Celta Vigo tonight, Sunday, at the Balaidos Stadium, as part of the 12th round of La Liga matches.
German coach Hansi Flick announced the Barcelona lineup that will take on Celta Vigo, in a match where the Catalan team seeks to regain its balance, after its recent draw in the Champions League against Belgian Club Brugge (2-2).
According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", Barcelona will play at one of the stadiums that has not been fortunate for them in recent years, having faced significant difficulties in achieving positive results at Balaidos.
The Blaugrana hope this time to return with all three points, to continue chasing Real Madrid, the leaders of the table, and to provide a convincing performance that reassures its fans, before the last international break of this year.
Barcelona regains in this match the services of the Danish defender, Andreas Christensen, who missed the last three matches, including the Clasico, due to muscle pain.
While the club had not issued a medical statement about Christensen's condition, it announced this Sunday morning that he had received medical clearance to participate, as his return is a strong boost for Flick, especially under the challenging defensive conditions the team is experiencing.
As for the Spanish defender Eric Garcia, he will play the match wearing a protective mask after suffering a nose fracture during the Brugge encounter, and he is expected to occupy the right back position in the starting lineup.
In contrast, both Juan Garcia and Raphinha remain outside Flick's plans due to injury, expected to return to the team roster after the international break.
Presence of Kounde
The list also includes French defender Jules Kounde, although he was unable to complete Saturday's training due to some physical problems.
Kounde had suffered discomfort in the last match, had not trained normally in recent days, yet Flick decided to include him in the team's mission heading to Vigo, possibly playing limited minutes depending on his condition.
Due to the uncertainty about Kounde's readiness, Flick decided to call up young player Xavi Esparza, who was scheduled to play with the reserve team against Torrente tonight.
Esparza thus joins a group of academy players who complete the team's list, including Koshin, Aler, and Drew.
The official Barcelona squad for the Celta Vigo match is as follows:
Szczesny, Koshin, Eder Aler, Balde, Araujo, Kooparse, Gerard Martin, Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Xavi Esparza, Firmin, Casado, Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Bernal, Drew, Ferran Torres, Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Rashford, Ronnie Bardge.
Flick's Statements
Hansi Flick, coach of Barcelona, affirmed that his club is currently paying the price for injuries that struck some of its key stars, emphasizing at the same time that the battle in La Liga is still long, and that the team will continue to fight until the end of the season in May.
The German coach said: "Celta Vigo is having a great moment, having won four consecutive matches and currently has better dynamics than us, but everything will depend on the situation with which we enter the match. I have spoken with the players about this, we desperately need the three points."
Regarding the support he receives from the club president, he explained: "Laporta's support is always important. We have talked a lot about the current situation, and we need more confidence."
He added: "We saw against Club Brugge that our defensive line was sometimes too deep, and the attackers far from the dangerous areas. We need to be more connected, both with and without the ball, and that is what we are currently missing. We have talked about that, and I hope we will implement it better against Celta."
When asked about the players' commitment and their faith in the project like last season, Flick confidently answered: "I am convinced they know exactly what needs to be done."
The Second Season
Flick went on to compare his current experience at Barcelona with his second season with Bayern Munich, saying: "It is easy to compare and talk, but I do not want to talk about Bayern Munich here, as it is not fair, because we also won the Bundesliga in the second season there.. I am not looking for excuses, it is a fact that we are suffering from many significant injuries, we are trying to manage them in the best possible way."
He added: "We would have liked to have gained more points, but we exited with one point from the Club Brugge encounter, and we are now five points behind Real Madrid in the Spanish league."
He stressed: "We must continue working until May, the road is still long. The players realize that we must play much better. When everyone returns in two or three matches, we will be at our best level. They will help us a lot. Until then, we must continue to fight, and I believe that is what we did not see on Wednesday against Club Brugge, we did not see that fighting spirit we want to see."
Flick spoke about the defensive state of the team before the Celta Vigo match, saying: "Eric Garcia is able to play, and he is fine using the protective mask. As for Jules Kounde, he did not complete the training, and I have doubts about his participation against Celta. I don't think he will make it to the match, but we will wait until the last moment."
