Jules Koundé continues to increase his brutal streak of playing minutes played this season

FC Barcelona continues to be expectant about the development of Jules Koundé's 2024-25 season. The doubts about the Frenchman's performance do not focus on his sporting level, where the Parisian shows continuous improvement each match, reaching the point of excelling as one of the best in the right-back position despite it not being his natural position. The uncertainty lies more in the significant number of minutes he has accumulated and whether this could affect his physical condition.

This time, Jules Koundé was once again a key player for the French national team during this October FIFA international break, playing in Matchday 3 and 4 of the UEFA Nations League against Israel (1-4) at the Bozsik Arena and Belgium (1-2) at the Koning Boudewijn Stadion respectively. Notably, following his current pace, the Parisian full-back played the full 90 minutes in both matches, adding another 180 minutes to his tally and reigniting the debate about whether the former Sevilla player is being subjected to an excessive load of minutes.

Fortunately, FC Barcelona has taken measures in this regard and, prior to the start of this FIFA break, decided to give Koundé a well-deserved rest. Despite having been part of the last game before the break, he did not start in the lineup, coming on in the 67th minute to replace Héctor Fort and strengthen the backline, marking his first appearance in this 2024-25 season where he did not start from the bench.

Koundé continues to set an unrelenting pace of minutes played in this season

So far, Jules Koundé has accumulated a total of 923 minutes of play with FC Barcelona, being surpassed only by Raphinha, who has amassed a total of 931 minutes in 11 matches. Now, adding the minutes played with the French national team, the Parisian has played a total of 1205 minutes in 15 matches so far this season.

This intense match rhythm raises the question of whether Koundé, known for his physical demands to maintain high performance, will be able to sustain himself until the crucial stage of the season where competitions are decided. It will also be important to see how Hansi Flick manages the Frenchman's workload, considering the potential trust in Héctor Fort to assume a more significant role on the right flank.