Barcelona boss Hansi Flick left young Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim out of the internal training match staged by the Catalan side at the close of their camp at England's St George's Park centre on Monday. The surprise call raised questions over the striker's future at the club.
Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" reported that Flick organised the in-house game across three 20-minute periods after the scheduled friendly against Preston North End fell through, the hosts unable to field enough players to face the Catalans. He even drafted in a professional referee to give the trial the feel of a real fixture.
Hamza Abdelkarim out of the picture
The most striking absence was Abdelkarim himself. The Egyptian forward took no part in the training match despite shining in the previous friendly, where he scored twice.
Flick offered no explanation for the omission, and the silence sparked plenty of questions.
Spanish full-back Alejandro Balde also sat it out, again with no word from the technical staff.
Flick splits the team and tests attacking alternatives
Flick divided his players into two balanced sides. The first lined up with Polish goalkeeper Szczesny, Xavi Espart, Christensen, Gerard Martin, Jofre Torrents, Casado, Marc Bernal, Oriol Guorin, Ademi, Ebrima Tuncara and Alex Gonzalez.
The opposition, meanwhile, featured goalkeeper Iker Rodriguez, Hector Fort, Araujo, Cortes, Pisquer, Farinas, Gil Fernandez, Fermin, Ronny, Toni Fernandez and Raphinha.
On the bench sat Aaron Yakubishvili, Tommy Marques, Oscar Gistau, Shane Kluivert, Ibrahim Diarra and Jesse Besio, the latter making his first appearance with Barcelona's first team.
Fermin opens the scoring and Flick tests the centre-forward role
Fermin struck early, opening the scoring for his team in one of the first attacks. Xavi Espart hit back moments later to level for the opposition.
With Abdelkarim missing, Flick used the game to trial his options at centre-forward. He turned to Toni Fernandez, who had sat out the previous friendly against Birmingham, and Ebrima Tuncara to fill the advanced role, hunting for effective attacking alternatives.
De Jong present in the stands despite injury
Dutch star Frenkie de Jong watched from the stands. He is out with an injury to his right knee and awaits further medical tests to decide whether he continues with conservative treatment or needs surgery.
Sporting director Deco, executive director Bojan Krkic and director of football Alejandro Echevarria also attended, keeping a close eye on the players before the official season kicks off.
Return to Barcelona amid questions over Hamza's future
The Catalans rested for a few hours at St George's Park after the unofficial friendly before heading to the airport, with the team due back in Barcelona early on Monday afternoon.
One question still hangs over the trip. Why did Flick leave Abdelkarim out despite his obvious quality, and does the decision hint at a shift in his future with the Catalan side?