Eleven million euros, and a bench seat at Mestalla
Barcelona signed a Brazil international for roughly what a mid-table club pays for a backup full-back. That is where this story starts, and it explains a lot about how Hansi Flick is handling the next few weeks.
Gabriel Jesus is in line for his first minutes on Sunday, when the Catalans travel to Valencia for a 16:15 kick-off. He will start on the bench. Flick said so himself.
“I was really happy with what I saw in training. He’s not at 100% yet, but he can play a few minutes. He could come on in the second half, but he’s absolutely ready. He doesn’t freeze in front of goal,” the Barca coach told reporters.
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Arsenal let him go cheap, and both sides knew why
The deal landed in the closing hours of the window. Around 11 M€ to Arsenal, with a contract running to 2029.
Three Premier League starts last season. That is the whole explanation for the fee. At 29, Jesus arrives in Catalonia with a body that has barely been asked to do anything competitive in twelve months, and Flick is not pretending otherwise.
What Barca actually bought
An international striker at squad-player money. The money side of it is close to risk-free. The football side depends entirely on whether the sharpness comes back.
Valencia first, then a fixture pile-up. Flick has a handful of weeks to get him to something usable before Barcelona’s European campaign opens, and Sunday is where the clock starts.
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