Barcelona weren't content with tying down young Egyptian Hamza Abdelkarim to a new contract and a huge release clause. They went further still, making a decision that laid bare their faith in his ability. They rejected the idea of loaning him out during the summer window, despite offers arriving for his services.
Deco, the Catalan club's sporting director, believes Hamza could prove an important solution this season, particularly in the out-and-out striker role. That's a position the first-team squad doesn't clearly cover, which makes the Egyptian a different option to turn to at specific moments.
On Friday, Barcelona announced Hamza's contract extension until June 2030. The club kept the value of the new release clause out of its official statement, but it has risen tenfold, from 15 million euros to 150 million euros. The move reflects Barcelona's desire to shield one of their most prominent young talents from the ambitions of rival clubs.
Raising the release clause wasn't the only sign of the sporting management's confidence. Deco took the decision to keep him at the club and not loan him out, despite receiving several offers during the summer, according to the Spanish newspaper "AS".
Why did Barcelona insist on keeping him?
Two main reasons sit behind the decision. The first is that the sporting committee believes Hamza is still adapting and developing, and that keeping him at the club, training under Hansi Flick alongside a group of first-team players, will benefit him more in the final stage of his development.
The second reason relates to his technical profile. Deco and Flick believe Hamza possesses abilities Barcelona may need in certain matches, especially when the score is level and the team needs a decisive striker inside the penalty area.
Barcelona recently described the player as a "future number nine", given his clear goalscoring instinct and an ability to move inside the box, qualities the rest of the team's forwards don't share in the same way. Gabriel Jesus has some similar traits, but Hamza is a different option with room to develop.
Since joining Barcelona on 1 February, Hamza has shown exceptional talent in front of goal, scoring six goals in nine matches with the under-19 youth team.
That brilliant form pushed Barcelona to activate the buy clause in his contract, then sign him to a new deal until 2029. The next step came with the extension securing his future until 2030, especially after Egypt called him up for the World Cup at just seventeen.
A double-edged sword
For all his brilliance inside the box, Hamza still needs to develop other parts of his game, especially outside it. He's working on broadening his skill set and improving his attacking and defensive movements to make them more instinctive.
The player has already made his first-team debut against Rayo Vallecano. This season he'll move between the first team, where he wears the number 29, and the reserve team, where he wears the number 19.
Under Flick and Deco's vision, Hamza will stay close to the first team and may get the chance to play when needed as an emergency option. That situation cuts both ways. It keeps him close to the first-team environment, but it could reduce his minutes if he doesn't feature regularly with the reserves.
An official signing ceremony next Tuesday will underline how important the club considers Hamza's renewal, with further details expected to emerge about Barcelona's project around the Egyptian.
Hamza is living through an exceptional phase in his career. His focus is clear: to fulfil his dream of succeeding with the Catalan club, having already brought some family members to Barcelona to support him on this historic journey.
With a long-term contract and a 150 million euro release clause, Barcelona clearly don't view Hamza as merely a young talent. They see a striker project who could become a real weapon in the future.