Barcelona plan to give Hamza Abdelkarim 10-15 first-team appearances this season

Barcelona have decided to keep Hamza Abdelkarim at the club despite interest in taking the Egypt forward on loan, with coach Flick and the club’s football department aiming to give him between 10 and 15 first-team appearances this season.

Abdelkarim has become a major media figure in Egypt since moving to Barcelona, while his first goal for the Egypt senior national team has further raised expectations that he could become one of the country’s leading players.

So far, he has been given more opportunities with Egypt than with Barcelona. However, that is understood to be part of an agreed plan designed to manage his development carefully as he adapts to senior football.

According to Sport, Barcelona intend to increase Abdelkarim’s role and hope he can even make some starts before the end of the current campaign. The club’s approach is to keep him involved in first-team training and competition rather than send him elsewhere to continue his progress.

There are currently no plans for a future loan move. Flick and Barcelona’s football management believe the player should remain close to them because of his potential value to the team. Their target is for him to feature in at least 10 to 15 matches for the first team this season, with his involvement expected to grow gradually.

Abdelkarim is naturally suited to the centre-forward position and is regarded by coaches as an attacker with an exceptional understanding of movement in the final third. He also possesses a strong physical frame and an impressive shot.

Those qualities have led Barcelona’s coaches to view him as a potential future number nine for the club.

Under the terms of his original agreement, Abdelkarim was expected to join the first team for pre-season preparations. His inclusion in Egypt’s squad for the World Cup, however, accelerated his progress and drew attention from the transfer market.

Barcelona subsequently decided not only to complete his permanent signing but also to give him a professional first-team contract. The agreement includes a release clause worth more than 100 million euros, while his terms were improved and the contract extended.

The main concern is that Abdelkarim has so far received very few minutes, something that could hinder his development. Barcelona nevertheless prefer to maintain the current approach for the time being, while gradually increasing his playing opportunities.

His only appearance to date came for a few minutes against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. After the international break, he is expected to receive more chances as part of the club’s rotation policy.

Despite having several offers to leave on loan during the January transfer window, the decision has already been made for Abdelkarim to remain with Barcelona.