Andreas Christensen has missed most of the 2024-2025 season due to an Achilles injury back in August. Now that he's back, he might just be the missing piece to Barca's defense that they have been looking for.
Barcelona's Defender Crisis
Barca has been in dire need of defensive reinforcements due to injuries throughout their backline all season long, with the Blaugrana even targeting players during the January transfer window and with plans to search the market again this summer.
Barca's luck has been terrible with both injuries and striking out on transfer targets, but they may just have the solution to their problems waiting patiently on the bench.
Scrambling for Defensive Reinforcments
Barca's injury bug hit them early in the season, with Ronald Araujo getting a hamstring injury in July 2024 and having to sit until December 2024, and Andreas Christensen getting an Achilles injury from August 2024 to January 2025.
These players were integral parts to Xavi's historical Barcelona BACK defense in the 2022-2023 season, which was arguably the best defense the club has ever had when Balde, Araujo, Christensen, Kounde, and Ter Stegen held the fort down.
Without these key defenders, Hansi Flick had to rely on a teenager in Pau Cubarsi and a 34 year old Iñigo Martinez as his center back pairing. With Kounde playing right-back under Flick, the only other center backs in rotation was 19 year old Sergi Dominguez and Eric Garcia, who had just returned from a loan spell at Girona.
This led Flick to run the duo of Martinez and Cubarsi almost every single game with hardly any rest for the Spaniards. During the January window, Barca was targeting Jonathan Tah, who seemed keen on joining the team, but after some talks, Leverkusen decided to let Tah go in the summer window instead, where Barcelona would get him on a free transfer.
Despite the current situation, Barca decided to wait it out and went without a signing during the winter. Eventually, Tah decided to sign with Bayern, which could've been a blow to Barcelona.
The club also suffered a number of other injuries to the backline, some longer than others, with practically every defender missing some time this season, including Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde, and Kounde.
A Glimmer of Hope
Christensen didn't feature in a game earlier in the season because he reinjured himself in training, sidelining him until April. He didn't have Flick's full trust just yet because the matches at the time were extremely important, so he hardly played in them, subbing in for just eight minutes against Inter and for 34 minutes against Real Madrid.
After Barcelona clinched the title, Christensen was given more opportunities to shine by Flick, and he excelled. In the two games he was given significant minutes, he had 64 carries against Valladolid and 59 carries against Espanyol, while also averaging 91.45% passing completion, which are some incredible numbers.
Both coaches and fans alike saw the passing vision and defensive stability that Christensen provided across these games, and despite the trade rumors earlier in the season, it seems inarguable that Christensen fits Flick's scheme perfectly and may just be the answer to Barca's questionably thin defense.
Ever since his arrival, Christensen has been a dependable player who accepted his role, both on the bench and as a starter, and has been able to play exceptionally well no matter when his name is called upon, and having him on Flick's squad will eliminate the need to spend excess money and may just be what the team needs to clean up their backline next seasonafter the lackluster season the defense has had.