Hamza Abdelkarim dazzles Barcelona star and forces his way in before Elche clash
García predicts a bright future for the talented Egyptian
Hamza Abdelkarim needed no more than a single pre-season with Barcelona's first team to start catching the eye. His team-mates noticed before the coaches did, and the young Egyptian forward is no longer merely a rising talent waiting for his chance. He has forced his way firmly into Hansi Flick's plans before the start of the new season.
Eric Garcia was the most prominent figure to reveal the scale of the surprise Hamza has created inside the dressing room. The Barcelona defender admitted he had not known the Egyptian before pre-season, then expressed his great admiration for what the forward has produced over recent weeks.
"I didn't know him, and he surprised me," Garcia said of Hamza, before adding a more significant message for the young forward. "If he keeps working this way, he'll become a very important forward in the future."
Reported by the newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", the defender's remarks came after the Al Ahly match in the Joan Gamper Trophy. Hamza scored the opening goal for the Catalan side against his former club, on a night that carried special significance for a player who, only a few months ago, did not even have a regular presence with Al Ahly's first team.
Hamza did not just leave his mark inside the dressing room, according to the newspaper. He produced numbers that made ignoring him more difficult. He scored against Al Ahly after starting the match, played 73 minutes, and reached four goals in three matches during pre-season, becoming one of the most prominent faces to emerge from Barcelona's preparations.
What is striking about those goals is that most of them reflect the qualities of the out-and-out forward Flick is looking for. He moves constantly inside the penalty area and knows how to appear in the right place at the moment the ball arrives, a point the German coach praised after the player's brace against Birmingham.
"As a forward, you have to appear inside the penalty area, and that's what he did today," Flick said at the time. "That's what I ask of a number 9." You can discuss topics and news in more depth on the Kooora forums
The Egyptian forward's brilliance came at a crucial time, the newspaper highlighted, with Barcelona still searching for a new forward during the transfer window. The competition for the number 9 position has not yet been settled.
As the club weighs its options to strengthen the attack, Hamza keeps providing fresh reasons for Flick to think of him as a genuine solution, and not merely a young player getting minutes during warm-up matches.
The question now, "Mundo Deportivo" suggests, is whether his pre-season is enough to earn him a genuine chance in the forward position during the league opener against Elche on Sunday.
There is an important paradox. Despite all this brilliance, Hamza has not yet played an official match with Barcelona's first team, and has not even made his official appearance with the reserve team. That makes the decision to start him against Elche a big step for Flick.
Read also: Does he threaten his place or protect his future: does Barcelona's new forward serve Hamza Abdelkarim?
