Barça’s Flick candidate Dani Olmo is in the squad for the match against Athletic

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick hopes summer signing Dani Olmo will be registered in time for Saturday’s LaLiga clash against Athletic Club at the Olympic Stadium.

The 26-year-old Olmo left RB Leipzig for Barça earlier this summer for 55 million euros ($61 million). However, he has yet to make his debut as the club remains above the league-imposed spending limit.

Barça are working hard to ensure Olmo is available this weekend. The transfer of Ilkay Gündogan to Manchester City will free up space for signings, but it is not yet clear whether this will be enough.

“This is not my job,” Flick said at a press conference on Friday when asked if Olmo would sign up for the Athletic match.

“Dani is ready to play. We are waiting for (him to be registered). Hopefully he will be in the team (Saturday) because that would help us a lot.

“He’s a great player. You see it in training, when he’s under pressure, around goal, he’s incredible. It’s good to have him in the team as soon as possible.”

In addition to Gundogan’s departure, Barça are also working on deals that would see striker Vitor Roque and defender Mikayil Faye leave the club soon.

Clément Lenglet, Ansu Fati and Eric García are among the other players who could leave before the transfer window closes. Sources have told ESPN that Barca are keen to add a left winger and a right back to their squad if they can afford to do so after signing Olmo.

ESPN reported this week that Federico Chiesa is in line to bolster the attack, with Marc Pubill and João Cancelo options at full-back. However, Flick stressed that he is only thinking about the players already at the club.

“I’m always focused on the team I have now, okay?” he added. “These are the things you can change. Thinking too much about other things is not good.

“The team I have is of good quality. I see that all the players are having fun, training with us, giving the best quality they have. This helps us to grow and I think we will be well prepared for Athletic.”

Flick began his tenure as Barca manager with a 2-1 win at Valencia last weekend, but Athletic, who finished fifth last season, could provide a bigger test at the Olympic Stadium this weekend.

The Basque club’s attack is led by Nico Williams, the Spanish winger that Barça were keen to sign this summer.

“We have an experienced player in this side, so I can say that Jules (Koundé) will take good care of him,” Flick said when asked about Williams and Barça’s interest in him.

“Talking about him is not my job because he is not our player. The focus is more on how we make him play because he is a good player, so I think Jules will do well.”

Athletics coach Ernesto Valverde, meanwhile, has said it is time to sever ties between Williams and Barca, with the forward set to stay in Bilbao for at least another year.

“There is an obsession with this story,” Valverde said at a news conference. “You can keep dragging things out indefinitely, but come on, let’s let it go now.

“He is training well and in that sense there is no problem for us. There has been a lot of noise, but that is all. He has filled newspapers and news bulletins, but nothing more. That is part of the game.

“It’s nothing new in the world of football, stories about clubs wanting players. The reality is that Nico is with us and he is happy. He came back happy for pre-season, took the number 10 shirt… and now we’re going to play.”