A new German fingerprint at Barcelona: "Flick's man" takes charge of the Ademola file

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Barcelona follow a new physical regime

The new German imprint has begun to appear clearly within Barcelona's camp in England, and this time not through Hansi Flick alone, but through his own "man" whom he brought with him to handle the most important files.

According to the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", Benjamin Kugel stole the spotlight during the team's second training session at the English FA's facilities at St George's Park. The new fitness coach is proving to be more than just an addition to the technical staff. He is Flick's right-hand man in Barcelona's new project.

Kugel arrived as the successor to Julio Tous in his first experience in Spain, following notable stints with Werder Bremen, Cologne, Eindhoven and Benfica. He took personal, direct charge of preparing new arrival Karim Adeyemi.

Flick trusts him absolutely. The pair spent nearly a full decade together in the German national team's technical staff, when Flick served as assistant to Joachim Löw and the two lifted the 2014 World Cup. That bond is why Flick handed him complete supervision of Adeyemi's physical programme.

The results spoke for themselves. The German winger showed noticeable physical progress, so much so that Flick decided to field him for the first time in a Barcelona shirt next Friday against Birmingham City at 8:45pm, after he had missed the Europa friendly due to a lack of readiness.

"Flick's man" did not stop at Adeyemi. Kugel imposed an intensive physical rhythm across the entire group, and it showed on Fermin Lopez and Ronald Araujo. Even Alejandro Balde felt it, as he returns from a pubic injury and continues his final rehabilitation programme after metatarsal surgery, targeting a return before the clash with Elche on 23 August.