Egypt's Hamza Abdelkarim, the Barcelona forward, has received several signs that boost his chances of featuring for the Catalan side this coming season.
Three departures have opened the door. Robert Lewandowski has left for the American league, Ferran Torres has moved to Paris Saint-Germain, and Marcus Rashford's loan was neither renewed nor made permanent.
The bigger boost lies in the complications surrounding Julián Álvarez's proposed move to Barça, with Atlético Madrid refusing to negotiate with the Catalan club over any deal.
Álvarez himself is desperate to join Spotify Camp Nou. His desire alone, though, does not appear enough to open the door.
Deco, Barcelona's sporting director, has no clear and direct alternative should the Álvarez deal collapse. True, the newspapers have linked the Catalan club with Inter Milan's Lautaro Martínez, but that talk looks closer to rumour than a genuine transfer project, especially with the player regarded as untouchable at the Italian club.
Amid all these complications, one name stands out as a potential beneficiary of Barcelona's centre-forward crisis. Abdelkarim joined the first team during pre-season, and Hansi Flick remains keen to keep him with the group just days before the Joan Gamper Trophy.
Flick made the call after Abdelkarim's impressive form in the friendlies, handing the Egyptian a real chance to keep working with the first team as Barcelona hunt for a solution to their out-and-out striker problem.
For Hamza, that crisis could become an exceptional opportunity. He has found himself in the German coach's plans at an unexpected moment, and with the season looming, he may become one of Flick's new bets.
Imagining Abdelkarim as Barcelona's main striker from the off is difficult, given the responsibility the role demands in a team chasing every trophy. Cropping up as an option off the bench, however, looks strongly plausible.
Flick may turn to Hamza in the tight games when Barcelona need an out-and-out striker who can deal with aerial balls and attack crosses. That could hand the Egyptian a particular edge, with no other player in Flick's squad offering similar qualities in that department.
Here, the lack of a ready-made solution in the market could turn from a crisis for Barcelona into an opportunity for Hamza Abdelkarim.