Barcelona Targets Azzedine Ounahi as De Jong's Injury Alters Plans

Barcelona have gone back to a familiar name as they search for midfield cover: Azzedine Ounahi.

The Girona midfielder, one of Morocco’s standout performers on the international stage, is back on the Catalan club’s radar in this summer window, with Frenkie de Jong’s injury forcing a rethink at Camp Nou. According to Spanish programme "El Chiringuito", Barça are weighing up a move as they look to plug a gap in the centre of the pitch.

De Jong’s setback has stripped Barcelona of one of their key organisers and ball carriers. It has also sharpened the focus on a market that is already thin in terms of affordable, high-level midfielders. Ounahi, playing his club football just up the road at Girona, suddenly looks like a very convenient solution.

He will not come uncontested. Several clubs are tracking the Moroccan this summer, drawn by his blend of energy, press resistance and vertical passing. For now, though, Ounahi has not committed to any move. His future remains open, and that uncertainty is exactly where Barcelona are trying to steal a march.

The interest is hardly new. Ounahi first caught Barça’s eye with his breakout on the biggest stage, dazzling for the Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup and helping drive Morocco to the quarter-finals. Barcelona circled then, tempted by his performances and profile, but the move never materialised and the trail cooled.

Since then, his reputation with Morocco has only grown. He shone again at the 2026 World Cup, once more powering his national team into the last eight and confirming that his earlier rise was no one-tournament wonder. That second global showcase has pushed his name back into the market’s spotlight – and straight back onto Barcelona’s shortlist.

This time, the circumstances are different. Barça are not just scouting for the future; they are reacting to an immediate problem in midfield. Whether that urgency is enough to turn long-standing admiration into a concrete bid for Ounahi is the question now hanging over their summer.