Will he join the Champions League squad? The truth about registering Hamza Abdelkarim with Barcelona's first team

Here's what stands out about Hamza Abdelkarim's appearance on the "LaLiga" website: he carries the number 29 shirt. That marks him out as part of the reserve list attached to the first team, not the main list of players officially registered with numbers 1 to 25.

Spanish league regulations set shirt numbers in the first team's main list from 1 to 25. Reserve-team players can appear with numbers between 26 and 50 when registered within the reserve list.

Abdelkarim's presence on the "LaLiga" website is an important step, then, but it doesn't yet mean he's become a player definitively registered in Barcelona's first-team main list.

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The situation could still shift over the coming days. Barcelona may officially register Hamza Abdelkarim in the first team's main squad once the summer window shuts, particularly if the club fail to land a new striker before deadline day.

That move isn't a must, though. Things could stay exactly as they are, with Hamza remaining part of the reserve squad while still being available to the first team under the competition's regulations.

The full picture won't become clear until the summer market closes on 1 September. Only then will we know whether Barcelona hand Hamza Abdelkarim a place in the main squad or keep relying on him from the reserves.

Promotion to the first team would bring a change of shirt number, switching to one between 1 and 25.

Another piece of evidence confirms that Hamza Abdelkarim's registration in the first-team squad has not yet taken place. The official first-team list on FC Barcelona's website still does not include the Egyptian forward's name.

So here's the more accurate picture. Hamza Abdelkarim appeared registered with the Spanish La Liga on a list linked to the first team, but Barcelona have not yet registered him in their first-team squad.

The final days of the transfer window will prove decisive for the player's future. Either he moves up to the first-team squad once the mercato closes, or he stays where he is within the reserve side.

One question matters most for Hamza Abdelkarim: when will he be eligible to feature for Barcelona in the Champions League? The answer hinges on which squad list he appears in at the Catalan club, whether at domestic level or in the records of European football's governing body.

Should Barcelona register Hamza Abdelkarim in their main first-team squad and then include him on the Champions League list under UEFA regulations, nothing in principle would stop him featuring in the continental competition, provided he meets the rest of the registration and eligibility conditions.

Stay in the reserve squad, though, and he won't make the European list. UEFA regulations allow eight players from the reserve team to be added to the main "A" list, but only if they have been with the club, or another club inside the same association, for at least three seasons. That does not apply to Hamza Abdelkarim.

The reserve "B" list looks equally tricky for Hamza, even though the permitted number is unlimited.

Under the regulations, a player can go on the "B" list if he has been eligible to play for the club continuously for two years since turning 15, or for a total of three years, with only one loan spell of no more than a year to a club from the same association permitted.

None of that currently fits Hamza Abdelkarim. He joined Barcelona last January, so he has not completed the required period to benefit from the "B" list exception.

His European situation therefore rests largely on what Barcelona decide about their main squad. Register him in a way that allows entry on the Champions League list, and he can feature in the competition. Leave him in the reserve squad without meeting the "B" list conditions, and he won't be eligible to play in Europe this season.

The next few days carry real weight for the Egyptian forward. The picture will clear once the transfer window closes and Barcelona settle their final squad, then again at the deadline for sending the European lists to UEFA. He must be registered on one of those lists to be eligible for the Champions League.

Spain's transfer window shuts on 1 September, with the final deadline for submitting the European list falling on 2 September.