Hansi Flick's New Midfield Star: Xavi Espart from La Masia

FC Barcelona will begin their 2026/27 La Liga title defence on Sunday night in Elche, and Hansi Flick might not need the transfer market to freshen up his midfield. He may already have his new man — and he’s come straight from La Masia.

Last season, as Barca retained their league crown, Flick quietly continued a revolution that has become the club’s lifeblood again: trusting the Class of 2007. Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal… and now Xavi Espart.

Espart, like his academy classmates, has grown up dreaming of the Camp Nou lights. His first taste of senior football came far from Barcelona, in the chill of a Champions League last-16 night at Newcastle United. Wearing not the classic blaugrana but the orange away strip still in use this preseason, he stepped on late in a 1-1 draw and ticked off the moment millions of kids imagine.

Those minutes didn’t stay isolated. Espart collected six appearances under Flick in 2025/26, mostly operating where he first broke through: in defence. Yet inside the club, another idea kept surfacing.

From La Masia Midfielder To Flick’s “Lahm”

At La Masia, Espart learned the game in midfield. The academy coaches saw his range of passing and reading of space long before he was nudged deeper. Flick has seen the same thing – and more. The German has openly framed him as a Philip Lahm-type solution, a player who can glide between roles and systems without losing clarity.

This summer, the experiment has become something closer to a plan. During preseason Espart has been used exclusively in midfield. Eric Garcia, meanwhile, has effectively nailed down the right-back slot, setting up a duel with Jules Kounde and freeing Flick to push Espart permanently into the centre of the pitch.

The shift has looked natural. In a 5-2 away win over Basel last Sunday, Espart’s composure and angles of support drew praise from Culers who watched a youngster play like he had been in that role for years. The Gamper Trophy against Al Ahly added another layer: Barcelona won 2-1, and Espart came within a desperate block on the line of marking the occasion with a goal.

Those details matter. They’re the kind of small, convincing moments that turn a coach’s idea into a season-long decision.

A Door Opens For Elche

Barcelona’s campaign starts late compared to most of La Liga, with only Real Madrid on a similar schedule after both clubs sent a heavy contingent to the World Cup. The first domestic ball for Barca will roll at 21:30 local time in Elche, under lights and with questions hanging over Flick’s midfield selection.

Two absences shape the picture. Pedri is still not fit. New signing Rodri is also unavailable. That leaves a vacancy in the middle of the park, and Espart has surged into contention to fill it.

He may not walk into the XI alone. There is a real possibility that he lines up alongside fellow 2007 graduates Lamine Yamal and Marc Bernal from the first whistle. That would be a statement as much as a selection: three La Masia boys from the same generation entrusted to start the title defence.

The wild card is Pau Cubarsi. The World Cup’s Best Young Player did not feature at all in the Gamper, raising a simple question: is he being wrapped in cotton wool after a long summer, or is there a fitness concern the club is managing quietly? Flick’s answer will be written on his teamsheet.

If Cubarsi does play and Flick goes bold, Barcelona could send out four Class of 2007 talents together in a competitive match. Not in a friendly, not in a ceremonial cameo, but in a league opener with points and pressure on the line.

For La Masia, that would be more than a feel-good snapshot. It would be proof that the academy is not just supplying cameos, but forming the spine of a team trying to dominate Spain and Europe again.

And at the heart of that new-look spine, Xavi Espart suddenly looks less like a prospect and more like Flick’s newest midfielder.