Hans-Dieter Flick is beginning to regret letting go of a Barcelona player who had a great pre-season and was expected to remain in the first team.
Barcelona have been plagued by injuries this season, which forced Flick to admit that he regretted letting the player go last summer.
According to information from the Catalan newspaper “Sport”, Alex Valle is considered one of the most positive aspects of the friendly matches and he deserved to be given the opportunity.
Although he often played in an unfamiliar position, he shone every time he participated and the injury epidemic forced Flick to put him at right-back on more than one occasion, despite his preferred position being left-back.
Despite this change, Valle managed to pass the tests against big rivals such as Manchester City, Milan and Real Madrid, which made him the subject of interest from several clubs, such as Villarreal, Sevilla, Betis and Valencia.
As a result, Laporta intervened to renew his contract and increase the player’s release clause, which was less than four million euros.
The newspaper added that despite all the challenges, his loan to Celtic Glasgow was announced, where he can gain more experience in the Scottish League, which requires great physical effort, in addition to his participation in the Champions League.
Valle did not want to stay as a substitute, but Flick could not guarantee the continuity that the player was looking for. The presence of Alejandro Balde made things more complicated for Valle, who decided to leave Barcelona to move to a team that would guarantee him a starting place.
The German coach now regrets letting him go, as he believes that Valle can be an important element in the team, especially in light of the declining performance of Gerard Martin.
He also does not trust the abilities of Hector Fort, who has not participated in any match as a starter, which forced Jules Kounde to play continuously and Flick is aware of the importance of Valle’s return to Barcelona in 2025.
Fortunately, the loan contract with Celtic did not include any purchase option, which means that Flick hopes to get the player back next summer.