Karim Adeyemi Joins FC Barcelona: First Training Session Under Hansi Flick

The wait is over. After more than a week in limbo, Karim Adeyemi has finally stepped onto the training pitch as an FC Barcelona player, working for the first time under Hansi Flick at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.

For days, the German winger has been in Barcelona but not really of Barcelona. The paperwork dragged, the signatures took their time, and while the squad trained, he watched and waited. On Thursday, the formality ended: official unveiling, photos with president Joan Laporta, first words to the media as a Barça footballer. The badge was on his chest. The deal was real.

On Friday morning, it started to feel like football again.

Early start, new reality

Shortly before 8:45 a.m., Adeyemi arrived at the training ground, this time not as a guest or a future signing, but as a registered member of Flick’s squad. No more half-measures, no more “almost”. Just boots, kit, and work.

The 24-year-old had already met most of his new teammates during his stay in the city, but this was different. This was his first full session in club training gear, his first chance to slot into the patterns Flick demands, his first real step toward earning a place in a side being reshaped for the new season.

For a player whose game is built on acceleration and sharp changes of direction, these early days are about rhythm and understanding as much as fitness. Flick’s methods are intense, detailed, unforgiving. Adeyemi’s adaptation starts now.

No rush for Europa friendly

The temptation, when a new signing finally hits the grass, is to throw him straight into a game. Barcelona will resist that urge.

Despite completing his first workout, Adeyemi is not expected to feature in the behind-closed-doors friendly against CE Europa on Friday evening, as reported by SPORT. One session under a new coach, after a stop-start spell waiting on paperwork, is not the platform on which to risk a high-intensity debut, even in a low-key setting.

He will instead join the list of absentees for the match, a group that already includes Ronald Araújo, Alejandro Balde and Hafiz Gariba. The plan is clear: build him up properly, then unleash him.

England tour offers first real window

If tonight comes too soon, the next stage of pre-season offers a more realistic opening.

Barcelona’s trip to England will give Adeyemi his first genuine opportunity to make an impression in match conditions. On July 31, Flick’s side face Birmingham City in a pre-season friendly, a fixture that looms as a natural moment for the German attacker to take his first minutes in blaugrana on the pitch, not just in the photos.

Days later, Barça will meet Preston North End in another behind-closed-doors encounter on English soil. Two games, two chances. For Adeyemi, they are early auditions: prove his sharpness, show his understanding of Flick’s demands, and begin to carve out his place in a forward line that will be under heavy scrutiny this season.

Fitness puzzles at the back

While Adeyemi’s debut was the headline, Friday’s session also underlined the physical state of some key defenders.

Balde continued to work away from the main group, still on an individual programme. Araújo did the same, progressing step by step towards full fitness. Their absence, combined with Adeyemi’s managed integration and Gariba’s non-participation, means Flick’s options are still incomplete as pre-season ramps up.

Even so, there was a small but significant shift on Friday morning. A new winger finally trained in Barcelona colours, under a new coach, with a new season fast approaching.

The administrative saga is finished. The football part starts now.