Hansi Flick's New Midfield Star: Xavi Espart from La Masia
FC Barcelona’s first league ball of the 2026/27 season hasn’t even been kicked, but Hansi Flick already looks to have added a “new” midfielder without spending a cent.
His name is Xavi Espart. La Masia, Class of 2007. Another one.
Last season, as Barça retained their La Liga crown, Flick quietly slipped him into the senior picture, extending the remarkable production line that had already delivered Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Marc Bernal. Same generation, same academy classrooms, same dream: to pull on the Barça shirt.
Espart’s debut came far from Catalonia, and not even in the famous blaugrana. He stepped onto the pitch in the orange away strip, late in a tense 1–1 Champions League last‑16 first leg at Newcastle United. A few minutes, a first taste, a door opened.
By the end of the 2025/26 campaign, he had six senior appearances under Flick. Mostly at the back. Yet the murmur inside the club never went away: this kid might not stay there.
From Lahm Comparison To Midfield Reality
Those whispers came with a clear footballing logic. Espart grew up in La Masia as a midfielder, comfortable in the middle of the pitch, seeing the game in 360 degrees. Flick spotted it immediately and framed him in familiar terms: a Philip Lahm‑type profile, someone who can slide between defence and midfield without losing clarity or control.
Preseason has turned that theory into practice. Espart has been used exclusively in midfield, while Eric Garcia has effectively nailed down the right‑back role, pushing Jules Koundé for minutes there. The experiment is no longer an experiment. It looks like a plan.
And the performances have backed it up.
In a 2–5 away win over Basel last Sunday, Espart caught the eye with his composure and aggression between the lines, drawing praise from Culers who saw more than just a converted defender. Then came the Gamper Trophy against Al Ahly. Barça won 2–1, and Espart came within a desperate block on the line of capping the night with a goal. It felt like a statement: he belongs higher up the pitch.
Door Opens For Elche Opener
Now the calendar brings the real thing. Barça begin their La Liga defence late, like Real Madrid, after a World Cup‑heavy summer. The title holders finally get going on Sunday night, away to Elche, with a 21:30 local kick-off.
The squad situation hands Espart a genuine opportunity. Pedri is still not fit. New signing Rodri is also unavailable. The gaps in midfield are real, not theoretical, and Flick needs solutions he already trusts.
That puts Espart firmly in the frame to start, potentially alongside his fellow 2007 products Lamine Yamal and Marc Bernal. A trio from the same La Masia class, stepping into a league opener together, would be a powerful image of where Barcelona are heading.
One question lingers over Pau Cubarsí. The World Cup’s Best Young Player did not feature in the Gamper, which raises doubts. Is he short of rhythm, or simply being wrapped in cotton wool before the season starts? Only Flick and his staff know the full answer.
What is clear is that the odds of all four 2007 talents sharing the pitch from the first whistle are climbing. If it happens at Elche, it will not just be another team sheet. It will be a snapshot of a club that keeps turning to its academy in search of its future – and, in Xavi Espart, may have just found its next midfielder.
