International tournament summers are never straightforward for Barcelona. Players return late, pre-season is shortened and coaches have to rebuild the team while some of their most important players are still recovering.The past couple of months have been particularly challenging. Eight Barcelona players were in Spain’s World Cup squad, and they came back as champions. There was less time to prepare, more players returning at different fitness levels, and more transfer upheaval, featuring unexpected departures and star signings.Inevitably, it has led to more uncertainty around what the team would look like once the season began — but Barcelona have been here before.The last time they faced a disrupted pre-season, Barca produced their best campaign in years. In 2024-25, a young squad featuring Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Casado helped the club win La Liga in Hansi Flick’s first season as manager.There is no guarantee history will repeat itself. With a week to go until the transfer window closes, Barcelona don’t have a single specialist centre-forward, and positive friendly results can be misleading.But Barcelona’s 5-0 win at Elche was an emphatic reminder that this team has quality, offering signs that they are on the right track.Here, The Athletic runs through the key talking points from Sunday’s victory.Hansi Flick’s harder edgeThe Barcelona manager is not softening his approach as he begins his third season.Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ronald Araujo have left on loan, leaving vacancies in Barca’s leadership group. A squad vote will take place at the end of the transfer window, but until then, Flick has decided who forms the club’s group of captains. Frenkie de Jong was left out, and Raphinha took the armband against Elche. At a club where the players traditionally choose their leaders, it was an unusually strong intervention.Flick’s hardline approach continued in his pre-match press conference, when he publicly called on Alejandro Balde, who has been linked with a move away, to demonstrate his commitment. A day later, Balde was left out of the squad.“He needs to clear his mind up,” Flick told Movistar right before the game.The ruthless streak was shown with Aruajo, too. He had been determined to stay at Barcelona but a single conversation with Flick led to the Uruguayan signing for Liverpool on loan.Reacting to Barca’s fitness problems last season, Flick asked for adjustments in the club’s physical preparation team, and Julio Tous departed.Changes across the club were to be expected. After the draw against Rayo Vallecano at the beginning of last season, Flick delivered one of his most memorable lines: “Egos kill success.”He has been at Barcelona for two years. Flick knows the players, knows the club and knows what this squad needs.Barca can survive without a striker… for nowIt has been one of the biggest questions of the summer but Raphinha’s form is making the club’s need for a traditional centre-forward less urgent.Raphinha celebrated his first goal by imitating Spider-Man. He told reporters after the game it was for his son, Gael, a huge fan of the Marvel superhero, but amid all the speculation surrounding Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez — nicknamed ‘La Arana’ (the spider) — the Brazilian seemed to be saying: ‘I’m already here’.Raphinha celebrates his opener against Elche (Francisco Macia/Getty Images)Patience has been crucial to Raphinha’s success at Barca. He spent his first season waiting for his chance on the right wing, playing behind Ousmane Dembele. However, Dembele’s departure for Paris Saint-Germain coincided with the emergence of Yamal, who jumped ahead of Raphinha in the pecking order.Instead of getting angry because a teenager had taken his spot, Raphinha adapted his game. He moved to the left and became one of Barcelona’s most important players.Now he has taken on another challenge.With Barca lacking a traditional No 9, he has moved inside. Against Elche, he scored twice and provided an assist, constantly moving away from the traditional centre-forward position to create space for himself and his team-mates.Constantly finding a way to make himself important, Raphinha has again proven he can evolve.For all that versatility, Barca still need another option in attack. Over a long season, particularly against elite opposition, there will be moments when a specialist striker would give Flick something different.Barca looked good against Elche, but that doesn’t tell us what this team can do in Europe.The Champions League is the real temperature check.Until then, Barcelona have shown they can function without a No 9 — and Raphinha has shown once again that when the team needs something from him, he is willing to change.Back on track in the transfer marketBarcelona’s summer windows look very different from a few years ago.They are no longer simply trying to find the best player they can afford within a limited budget. Other than the unresolved striker role, Barca have moved towards their preferred targets.Rodri is the best example. Barcelona weren’t desperate for a holding midfielder. Far from an emergency signing, his arrival for £65.3million ($89.1m) from Manchester City is as important strategically as it is in footballing terms.He could have joined Real Madrid. He chose Barcelona instead.For a club that has spent years fighting financial problems and watching some of the biggest players in the world choose other destinations, attracting a player of Rodri’s profile sends another message about the strength of the Barca brand.The expectation is that Barca will be able to register almost all of their players without another summer dominated by last-minute drama over La Liga’s spending rules.If that cycle really is coming to an end, it would represent a change much bigger than any individual signing.La Masia’s enduring importanceAnother season, another batch of promising academy prospects breaking through.The influence of La Masia is nothing new, nor is Flick’s willingness to trust young players, but the emergence of new stars is always captivating.Xavi Espart has been one of the most interesting stories of pre-season.The 19-year-old was handed opportunities during the tour and started at left-back ahead of Balde against Elche. Despite playing out of position, Espart put in a mature performance. As well as providing the assist for Fermin Lopez’s second goal, Espart also made the third-most touches, registered an 85 per cent passing accuracy and won 10 out of his 14 duels.When Barcelona have a problem, there is often a player at La Masia who can give them an answer.Espart may or may not become a long-term starter. It is far too early to know. But what a gift that Flick could hand a 19-year-old his second senior start, in an unfamiliar position, and trust him to perform.De Jong’s future is increasingly unclearDuring the World Cup, De Jong tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, and then Barca signed Rodri.The arrival of the Ballon d’Or winner changes the picture at the base of midfield, particularly because Marc Bernal is also emerging as a serious option. Bernal, 19, finished last season strongly and impressed again against Elche. Flick believes he can become Barcelona’s long-term holding midfielder.De Jong used to be Flick’s first choice. The manager was patient as De Jong struggled for fitness and helped him reach his peak at Barcelona.Once the midfielder returns from injury, we’ll have more answers, but the hierarchy is less obvious. Rodri is the present. Bernal is the future. De Jong, whose contract expires next summer, is somewhere between.