Spanish newspaper Sport reported on Wednesday that Barcelona's management decided to call up Egyptian Hamza Abdel Karim to play for the first team throughout next season's competitions, not just in the preseason.

Barcelona signed Hamza Abdel Karim until June 20, 2029 after his loan from Egyptian club Al Ahly during the second half of last season. He played several matches for Barcelona's second team and performed well.

Hamza Abdel Karim participated with Egypt in the World Cup, playing 4 matches during the Pharaohs' journey that stopped at the round of 16 after defeat to Argentina.

Egypt's head coach Hossam Hassan gave the young player the opportunity to play in the World Cup, in almost every match, averaging 14 minutes per game.

Inside the offices of the Joan Gamper sports city, Barcelona officials do not expect Hamza to have a major role with Barcelona Atlètic, as they believe he has different qualities that could make him more useful for the first team.

The club considers that the Egyptian striker could be an additional option in the attack, especially since Flick does not have a strong, physical striker of this type, which could give Hamza a role as a second or third option during the season.

The newspaper said that Hamza Abdel Karim is a traditional old-fashioned striker, a strong-built center forward, good at playing with his back to goal, and characterized by hard work and fighting spirit on the pitch.

The player still needs to develop many technical aspects of his game, but within Barcelona there is a conviction that he possesses the qualities that qualify him for a big future, according to the source.

Hamza scored 6 goals in a short period of just over two months, after overcoming administrative problems that delayed his registration and prevented him from participating in competitions.

Start with the first team

Hamza was scheduled to join on July 13 at the start of preseason for the new season with Barcelona's first team, but it is likely that he will get a few days of rest.

This comes after he ended the season with the youth team by playing the Champions Cup final against Real Madrid, then immediately traveled to join the Egyptian national team camp in preparation for the World Cup, without any rest period.

He is expected to later join the first team's training under coach Hansi Flick.

Barcelona does not completely rule out the idea of loaning Hamza to another team to gain more experience, but this option does not seem strong at the moment, according to the newspaper.

This is because Barcelona does not yet have a striker in its squad, and the signing of a new striker is still not finalized, although Julián Álvarez remains the club's main target.

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