Kounde set for first Barcelona start
Robin Bairner
- 24 Aug 2022 11:14 BST
- 3 min read
Jules Kounde is expected to make his first Barcelona start on Wednesday when the Catalans meet Manchester City in a friendly at Camp Nou.
The match is being played for the benefit of aiding ALS research through the Luzon Foundation following the 2020 diagnosis of Juan Carlos Unzue, a former Barca team-mate of Pep Guardiola, with the incurable neurodegenerative disease.
While it is a fixture taking place for important reasons away from the field, it will also provide Xavi with the opportunity to sharpen up France international Kounde to some degree.
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It has been a frustrating start to life at the club for the former Sevilla player, who has had few opportunities to take to the field in the Blaugrana because of registration issues. Since signing for the club on 29 July, he has managed only to appear briefly in a match with Pumas UNAM.
He sat out fixtures against Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad in La Liga because he was ineligible.
The fixture against City will provide the 23-year-old an opportunity to play once again.
Why can Kounde play against Man City?
While he is unable to play in La Liga or other competitive fixtures because he cannot be registered, that is not required for such an encounter.
In a match in which there is likely to be an extensive turnover of players, it would be surprising if Kounde was not given the full game.
Even if he is available for the weekend’s fixture against Valladolid - and Barcelona are reckoned to need around €20 million to be able to register him – it is doubtful that he would start that match simply due to his lack of competitive sharpness compared to his peers. In this case, it makes more sense for Konde to get as much time as possible, even in a lower-paced match like this.
