Hansi Flick’s masterplan to stop Newcastle United’s big signing – report

Barcelona are set to kickstart their UEFA Champions League campaign on Thursday as they take on Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

It is not going to be a walk in the park for the Catalans despite their recent 6-0 win over Valencia, with Newcastle boasting significant firepower.

Although the Magpies did lose a few players during the summer transfer window, the club have roped in some star talents as well, including former Bundesliga forward Nick Woltemade.

Flick’s plan to stop Woltemade

According to Diario SPORT, Flick has a plan to put a stop to Woltemade’s imposing presence in the Newcastle United final third this week.

Much of the German’s plans revolve around one key piece in the Barcelona defence: Ronald Araujo.

The Uruguayan international has struggled to impose his presence in these early parts of the season, which has led to speculation about his long-term future at the club. Liverpool, in fact, are among the clubs interested in his services.

However, Flick sees Araujo as a key defensive weapon for Barcelona as they look to cushion the impact of Woltemade, whose imposing 1.98m presence makes him a major aerial threat for the club.

Woltemade has already scored on his Premier League debut. Flick, therefore, is wary of his impact.

And in order to negate the tall German, the Barcelona coach plans to deploy Araujo in central defence, asking the centre-back to tightly mark the Newcastle United forward.

Although Araujo is considerably shorter than the towering Woltemade, he is by far Barcelona’s most physically and aerially adept defender, making him the perfect antidote for Woltemade. As such, we can expect him to start against the Magpies this midweek.

This could be a brilliant opportunity for Araujo himself to make a mark, having struggled to make an impression under Flick so far.