Quite optimistic we are on the right path but aware there is still a lot of work to be done before the club will fully recover from the mistakes of the past. Both on and off the pitch.
Good performances in La Liga are not showing much as overall level of the league is decreasing with traditional teams like Valencia (bottom of the table) and Sevilla struggling. So it was great to see what we did vs Bayern. Especially against an opponent we had bad history with. Before last night we only beat them twice in 15 official games and both times we had great teams. First win was in Pep's first season (2008/09) and second in 2014/15 with MSN. So to beat them with this team that is still a work in progress is a great sign.
But I prefer to stay level-headed and not get too carried away. Not that my opinion will have any impact on how the team will play ofc. We still have to show if we can play on a high level consistently against other good teams (El Clasico on Saturday will be another big test) but hopefully Flick has really changed the mentality of this club. Something that was needed for a long time. I had my doubts about him but so far has proven me wrong. And I'm always happy to be wrong when it benefits the club.
One thing I worry about is that his style is extremely physically demanding and players will burn out by January or February. Especially upfront where Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski are starting all games and only other options are Fati who is still trying to find his form, underperforming Ferran (out for a month now too) and Pau Victor who was great for the B team last season but ofc there is a big quality difference between 3rd division football and La Liga. Although OTOH Marc Casado (he's 21 and actually had a "normal" development curve unlike Ansu, Gavi, Yamal and Cubarsi who were thrown into the water as 16-17 yo kids) did make that step up and is now unquestionable starting DM playing on a very good level so hopefully Flick will give Pau more minutes in coming weeks too to prove his worth.
Good news is that we have Gavi, De Jong, Fermin and Olmo all returning from injuries (how long they'll stay fit is another question) so Flick will have more options to rotate in midfield. But as said we don't have much depth in attacking positions nor in defense where we are still missing Araujo and Christensen so Cubarsi and Inigo have to play in every game and we don't have proven depth at FBs behind Kounde and Balde (who has his own injury history as well) either. We also lost Ter Stegen and had to bring Szczesny out of retirement but he's still not ready to start in Flick's opinion and I can tell you that no Barca fan is calm with Inaki Pena in goal, lol. (probably the only thing 99.9% fans agree on is that he's nowhere near good enough to be a starting GK and shouldn't even be a backup).
But overall I think this team has a bright future. There are ofc some needs that will have to be addressed in next year or two. Especially replacement for Lewandowski as the club has seemingly already given up on Vitor Roque who we bought just last January. GK too with MATS's injury problems and then depth/more competition in some other positions.
DM and LW that most fans saw as problematic are not that anymore with Casado's emergence (Bernal also showed a lot of promise in first games but sadly is out with a torn ACL) while OTOH Raphinha is blossoming in Flick's system. I'm biased but think he's currently a top 5-10 player in the world.
In summer we were linked to Nico Williams who decided to stay in Bilbao and play a season in Europe with his brother. Seeing his chemistry with Yamal for Spain I would love to see them together at Barca but I fully respect his decision. He probably won't get another call in 2025 though with how Raphinha is playing. It's almost impossible for anyone to break this front 3 right now if they can keep playing on this level. And when that time will come we should replace Lewy due to his age, not Raphinha.
That said we still need at least one winger for rotation. Ferran and Ansu (as much as it hurts me to say that as I was always a believer in him. Still has two months to impress but think we'll look for an exit for him in January) are just not good enough and ofc with Fati the biggest problem is his high salary.
I also think we are out of the worst from a financial perspective. Return to the Camp Nou will be a big boost. New Nike contract should also be signed before end of 2024. We are reading about how the agreement is close for months already though so I'll only believe it when officially confirmed. But club should be back to work normally on the market over the next 12-18 months imo.
That doesn't mean I expect us to really go after Haaland (it's probably those rumours you were asking for) but I think we'll be in a position to make a "big" signing when needed. And that signing will most likely be a striker. Personally would prefer Gyokeres. Not as clinical as Haaland but overall think he would be a better fit for Flick's system and also cheaper both in terms of transfer fee and wages. But timing probably won't be in our favor. Lewa has a clause to extend his contract for another year when he plays enough games this season which will inevitably happen so don't see us getting a new starting #9 before 2026. And Gyokeres will surely leave Sporting next summer. It's surprising to me he's still there tbf.
If it would be up to me would like to sign Jonathan David from Lille if he would accept being a squad player for a season before taking over from Lewa. But there will be a lot of interest in him. We've done pretty well on the FA market recently with likes of Christensen, Gundogan and Inigo Martinez. Ofc some signings like Marcos Alonso or Kessie (at least we sold him for solid money to Saudis though) didn't work out that well but overall in our situation they were all reasonable signings.
There are other upcoming free agents we should consider as well and we were already linked to likes of Tah and Kimmich. Pretty obvious rumours for media to make having a German coach too. Should stay reasonable and not give them big fat long term contracts though if we decide to sign any of them. Players should come to Barca because they want to play for the club not because we give them the highest wages like under Bartomeu.
I hope we'll stay smart and stay away from expensive transfers that never really worked out and are one of the reason why we are in this financial mess now. Instead should continue to believe in La Masia (BTW, last night's starting XI featured 6 homegrown players whose average age was just above 20 years and overall lineup was also the youngest we used in CL since 2011) that continues to produce quality players. Several of Barca B and Juvenil A (U19) players are already on Flick's radar and training with first team so maybe we'll see one or two of them in coming months too.