Barcelona teenager Hamza Abdelkarim strengthens first-team case under Hansi Flick

\n\nHamza Abdelkarim appears increasingly likely to remain with Barcelona’s first team after Hansi Flick showed continued faith in the forward, despite the club’s signing of Gabriel Jesus.

The Egypt international made his senior Barcelona debut in the club’s La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano, coming on as a substitute for the final five minutes. A further indication of Flick’s plans may be Abdelkarim’s continued absence from the Barcelona reserve squad.

Barcelona Atletic announced their squad for Wednesday’s Catalan Cup final without including the 19-year-old striker. The fixture comes only two days after Flick’s side faced Rayo Vallecano, meaning Abdelkarim could have been considered for the reserve team after playing just five minutes in the league match.

However, Abdelkarim has not trained with the reserve side at any point since the start of the summer. Instead, he joined Barcelona’s first-team squad at the beginning of pre-season, featured in all of their preparation matches and was included in the senior squad for the opening three games of the La Liga campaign.

The forward was an unused substitute in Barcelona’s first two matches of the new season before making his debut against Rayo Vallecano. He had impressed during pre-season, scoring four goals, and was rewarded with his first competitive appearance at Camp Nou.

“It is a very exciting feeling to play an official match at Camp Nou, and I want to experience this feeling many times,” Abdelkarim told 3Cat.

“I was very excited to play in front of such a large number of fans. It is an incredible feeling, and I want to experience it again and again.”

The Egypt international added: “I hope to help the team as much as possible and that we win everything.”

Abdelkarim also spoke positively about two of Barcelona’s most prominent attacking players.

“Raphinha is a great player. He has natural talent. He is a wonderful person, and we all know that he always gives 100% of his effort on the side where he plays,” he said.

“Lamine Yamal is a magical player. He has two amazing feet, which makes him very enjoyable to watch.”

He continued: “Lamine plays for the team and helps all of us to do what we want to do.”

Barcelona have made a perfect start to the La Liga season and sit top of the table on goal difference from Real Madrid. Abdelkarim’s involvement in the first-team squad for each of their opening three league fixtures, combined with his omission from Barcelona Atletic’s cup-final squad, suggests he remains part of Flick’s senior plans for now.