Hector Fort left Barcelona in June on loan to Elche, hoping to further his development playing for a team that employs a largely similar style to his parent club. His start to life for Eder Sarabia's side, moreover, was stunning as he racked up two goals and as many assists for the club until the end of 2025, when he suffered a shoulder dislocation against Rayo Vallecano.
Barcelona's already complicated search for defensive reinforcements in January appears to have suffered another setback, with a report from SPORT pointing towards what is effectively the end of the road in their pursuit of Nathan Ake. Ake had emerged as a serious option for Barcelona as they explored short-term solutions to reinforce the back line. The Dutch international is open to leaving Manchester City, and the idea of playing for Barça was particularly appealing to him.
Marcus Rashford scored his first two competitive goals for Barcelona as Hansi Flick's team opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win at Newcastle United. The Blaugrana were without teenage sensation Lamine Yamal for their trip to St James' Park, but Manchester United loanee Rashford made his mark after being selected to start alongside Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. After Newcastle missed a pair of great first-half chances, Rashford planted a header into the bottom-left corner just before the hour mark,
