Barcelona pull out of Joshua Kimmich race following rise to prominence of La Masia star

Marc Casado has taken everyone by surprise due to his sheer composure on the ball and his innate game-reading ability as a holding midfielder and his rise to prominence under new coach Hansi Flick has led Barcelona to end their pursuit of Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich, per a report from El Nacional (h/t FC Barcelona Noticias).

Flick arrived at Barcelona ahead of the 2024-25 season with the club in dire straits. However, he immediately identified the La Masia duo of Marc Bernal and Casado as the players to reinforce the midfield, with first-team stars such as Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Frenkie de Jong on the sidelines at the start of the season.

Casado was initially overlooked in favour of the highly-rated Bernal, but a long-term injury to the latter opened the door for the former to stake his claim.

It is no secret that the Blaugrana were desperate to acquire the services of Kimmich this past summer and just last week the German midfielder himself hinted at a potential move to Barcelona with his contract expiring in June 2025.

That option now seems to be off the table, as Barca are placing their bets on the 21-year-old Casado over Kimmich, who'll turn 30 in February.

While Casado has an underrated vision and possesses incredible technical ability, he has surprisingly never scored a goal for either Barcelona's first team or their reserve side Barcelona B.

Kimmich and Casado will be back in action for their respective sides this weekend. Bayern will host fourth-placed Union Berlin in a riveting Bundesliga contest on Saturday, November 2, while Barcelona are scheduled to play Espanyol at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys a day later.