The limited appearances of young Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim with Barcelona at the start of the season have raised plenty of questions, especially after his striking pre-season displays. Yet it appears the plan of the club and coach Hansi Flick isn't down to technical considerations alone.
Abdelkarim was one of Barcelona's standout stars in the friendlies before the campaign kicked off. He scored 4 of the 10 goals the team netted in pre-season to finish as their top scorer in that phase. Raphinha and Bicio managed two apiece, with Karim Adeyemi and Lamine Yamal grabbing one each.
His numbers and eye-catching form gave the impression he would earn a significant opportunity once official competition began, especially with the club struggling to sign a new striker in the market. So far, though, his appearances have been extremely limited.
Hamza has played just 4 minutes across the first 3 rounds of La Liga. He came on in the closing stages of the big win over Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou, but didn't feature against Elche at the Martinez Valero, nor against Athletic Bilbao.
Flick keeps Hamza out of the sight of the English league
Barcelona's results back up Flick's attacking choices despite the 18-year-old's limited game time, not least because of the brilliance of Raphinha, who has scored 5 goals in the first 3 rounds of La Liga.
But newspaper "Sport" pointed to another reason behind Abdelkarim's lack of minutes: his current contractual situation. The release clause in his deal stands at just 15 million euros.
Barcelona's management believe that figure doesn't match the potential he showed in pre-season, nor his ability to attract the interest of European clubs, particularly in the English league.
The report claims Flick decided against leaning on the player in official matches in coordination with the sporting department led by Deco. The aim was to stop him shining while the transfer window stayed open, which could have tempted clubs to try to sign him for the value of the release clause.
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A new contract and a huge release clause
Now the window has closed, Barcelona plan to open negotiations to amend Abdelkarim's contract and improve its terms. It was a step already on the table, delayed only by the workload in the final days of the mercato.
The plan is to raise the release clause to 150 million euros, an increase of 900% on the current value. That gives the club far greater protection before handing the player a bigger role with the first team, should Flick decide to rely on him.
Hamza is expected to keep his registration with Barcelona Atletic while continuing to train in the first-team environment, awaiting Flick's decision on a bigger role over the coming period.
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