While most Premier League clubs head abroad for glamorous summer tours, Barcelona have chosen a rather different destination — England's Midlands. Manager Hansi Flick has taken the reigning La Liga champions to St George's Park in Staffordshire for a pre-season training camp this week.

The club's eight World Cup winners, including Lamine Yamal, are still enjoying a post-tournament break following Spain's triumph this month and were not part of the travelling party. New summer signing Karim Adeyemi, who joined from Borussia Dortmund, is in the squad.

Other Spain internationals — Ferran Torres, Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Dani Olmo, and Pedri — are also absent for the same reason, as are Brazil's Raphinha, France's Jules Kounde, and Uruguay's Ronald Araujo. Anthony Gordon, who completed an £80 million switch from Newcastle to Barcelona this summer, is missing too, along with several other senior internationals.

Friendly matches against Championship sides

Barcelona are scheduled to play two friendlies against English Championship clubs during their stay. The first comes on Friday at St Andrew's against Birmingham, with a second fixture against Preston taking place behind closed doors at St George's Park the following Monday.

Barcelona opted against a long-haul tour to the United States this summer, largely because of the disruption caused by the World Cup schedule. Birmingham had been in contact with the club for several months, seeking to raise their own profile under chairman Tom Wagner and minority owner Tom Brady — a seven-time Super Bowl champion. The Blues narrowly missed out on last season's Championship play-offs and carry promotion ambitions into the new campaign.

It is not Barcelona's first visit to St George's Park. They trained there in 2014 — the year they went on to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League — and again in 2016. The facility has also hosted Roma, Nantes, Fiorentina, and Rangers in recent years.

Surprise inclusions in Flick's squad

The 30-man squad that flew to Birmingham on Monday contains a mixture of first-team regulars, Barcelona B players, and youth-team prospects. Among the youngest is forward Orian Goren, who only turned 17 in March.

Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong is a notable inclusion despite having damaged the medial collateral ligament in his right knee at the World Cup — an injury initially expected to sideline him for months. The 29-year-old has travelled with the group.

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has also made the trip, despite ongoing speculation about a loan move to Ajax. With no deal finalised, the German shot-stopper could feature against Birmingham on Friday. Midfielder Fermín Lopez is with the squad but continuing his recovery from a broken foot sustained against Real Betis in May, which ruled him out of Spain's World Cup campaign.

Barcelona held a double training session on Tuesday, making use of the pitch ordinarily reserved for the England senior national team. After their UK fixtures, they travel to Italy on 8 August to participate in the Friuli Venezia Giulia tournament, playing two 45-minute matches against Nottingham Forest and Udinese.