The mystery remains! Hansi Flick calls up Dani Olmo without knowing if he will be able to play

FC Barcelona have announced the squad for Hansi Flick for the match against Athletic Club this Saturday, with Dani Olmo as the new addition to the list. The player from Egar was called up by the German and his name appears with an asterisk, waiting for the Catalan club to manage to secure his registration in LaLiga. The Catalans are still working on his case and will exhaust all resources to ensure that the footballer makes his debut as a Barça player in what will be the team's official debut in front of its fans.

📋 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐕𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀 pic.twitter.com/y9P54a9pjE

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 24, 2024

The Blaugrana coach already revealed in the press conference that, physically, the midfielder is fit to have minutes against the Bilbao team, so everything depends on Barça's movements throughout the day to get his registration. The call-up of the footballer is a strategy of the Catalan institution to gain time, since they hope to close a couple of operations that allow the registration of the player.

The first of these would be the loan of Clément Lenglet to Atlético de Madrid, an agreement that is practically done and that is only pending the medical examination that the Frenchman will undergo on the morning of August 24 to be officially closed. If the offices of the Cívitas Metropolitano can register the defender, this fact could be key for the Barça entity to obtain the go-ahead from LaLiga to register Olmo. In addition, the transfer of Mika Faye could also be another 'lever' that facilitates the approval of the employers' association.

Similarly, another alternative handled by the Barcelona leadership is to present a guarantee from the board, a method that was used in the past to be able to assume the registrations of Jules Koundé or Iñigo Martínez. This resource could 'unblock' the operation and it is not ruled out that the Catalans resort to it to be able to enjoy their star signing on Saturday in Montjuïc.

Barça's limit

That being the case, Barça will put all its options on the table to get the attacker registered, which can be done up to five minutes before the start of the match. However, it is most likely that the matter will be resolved, for better or worse, when the starters and substitutes for the match against the team managed by Ernesto Valverde are announced.