Jules Koundé Faces Challenge for Starting Position

Jules Koundé is in a place he barely recognises.

For the first time since Hansi Flick walked through the door, the France international is no longer a near-automatic starter. The security of his name on the teamsheet has gone, and with it the comfort of routine. In its place: doubt, extra hours, and a fight to convince his coach all over again.

According to Catalan newspaper Sport, Flick has not viewed Koundé as a priority since June. Inside the club, the sporting department were open to listening to offers, and this time the defender himself was no longer firmly against the idea of a move. That alone marks a shift. Not long ago, Koundé was seen as a pillar for the future. Now his status is under review.

The opening weeks of the season have only underlined that change. His level dipped last year, and this campaign has started with others stepping ahead of him in the race for the right-back spot. Performances in recent matches have strengthened the case for his rivals. For a player used to commanding his place, that stings.

Koundé knows it. He knows he is not at his peak. He also knows there is only one way back.

Nobody inside the club questions his physical dedication. The Frenchman has always chased the highest possible condition, even when things were going well. That obsession has simply taken on a different meaning now. It is no longer just about staying sharp; it is about survival in the starting XI.

So when first-team training ends and team-mates drift towards the dressing room, Koundé stays put. The pitches do not empty for him. As others peel off their boots, he is still out there with fitness coaches and physiotherapists, putting in extra work, as reported by Sport. Sprints, strength, corrective exercises – whatever is needed to close the gap and tilt Flick’s thinking back in his favour.

His response to a shrinking role is blunt: work more. Longer sessions in the gym. Extra time at the training ground. More detail, more repetition, more sweat. It is not a grand gesture, just a steady, stubborn refusal to accept a reduced part.

And this is not some late-career reinvention. This is who Koundé has always been. Even at what many would call the peak of his career so far, when major European clubs – including Manchester City – were tracking him closely, he followed the same path. Extra sessions, extra responsibility, extra demands on himself.

Back then, that mentality helped turn him into one of the most coveted defenders in Europe.

Now it has to save his place.