Barça boss Koeman shows the door to Braithwaite, Umtiti & Collado

Barça boss Koeman shows the door to Braithwaite, Umtiti & Collado

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The Dutchman made it clear they won't be a major part of his plans this season

Barcelona's 3-0 friendly win over Stuttgart in Germany drew many conclusions. The majority focused on the young players, who are taking advantage of the chances Ronald Koeman's giving them. But the other lessons came in terms of the clear message sent to Martin Braithwaite, Samuel Umtiti and Alex Collado. All three were left on the bench for the entire game.

In Braithwaite's case, Saturday was set to be his first game of preseason after he returned to training this week. Koeman, though, did not give him minutes as he's aware he's one of the players who must leave and a possible injury would ruin the club's plans. The arrival of Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero has increased the competition in attack.

Meanwhile, Umtiti didn't play at all, either. The Frenchman started Barça's first two friendlies and was hoping for another chance to convince Koeman he could be useful. However, it seems unlikely that the Dutch coach will count on the centre-back, who the club desperately need off the wage bill.

However, as the delay over his future goes on, he could have minutes against RB Salzburg on Wednesday in an attempt to drum up interest and prove his fitness ahead of a transfer or loan move.

Finally, Collado did not play either. He played the second half against Nastic de Tarragona, scoring, and half an hour. Barça have confirmed that he has now left the club to finalise his future, with reports surfacing that he will join Belgian club Club Brugges on loan.

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