Barcelona Boss To Run Rule Over Coventry City Target In Pre-season | OneFootball

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick plans to include Coventry City target Hamza Abdelkarim in the club’s pre-season in order to run the rule over him.

Born in Cairo, Abdelkarim started his football journey in Malaysia, joining Kuala Lumpur FC’s academy at the age of eight.

He later returned to Egypt to link up with Al Ahly’s youth set-up and went on to make his senior debut for the club in February last year.

Regarded as one of the brightest young talents around, the 18-year-old earned a move to Barcelona, who signed him on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.

Following his impressive performances for Barcelona B, the La Liga champions activated Abdelkarim’s €1.5m purchase clause last week, locking him into a long-term contract running until 2029.

The Egyptian striker has also attracted interest from English clubs, with Coventry, who will be playing in the Premier League next season, ‘most determined’ to sign him.

However, with fresh developments emerging, it appears the Sky Blues will have to wait for Barcelona to make a decision.

According to Spanish daily Marca, Barcelona boss Flick is planning for Abdelkarim to join the Catalan giants for pre-season training.

Should the ambidextrous forward succeed in convincing the German manager during pre-season, it is unlikely that Barcelona will send the striker on a loan spell.

It remains to be seen where Abdelkarim will play next season, though the striker will look to put in strong displays for Egypt in the ongoing World Cup.

With the summer transfer window now officially open, Coventry City will be looking to strengthen their squad and prepare for Premier League survival next season.

Coventry are looking to strengthen at left-back, with FC Porto’s Francisco Moura among the most popular names under consideration.

Lampard will know that the business done over the course of the summer will largely determine his side’s chances of survival in the Premier League next season.

Abdelkarim could be a wild card, unknown by Premier League defences, but Barcelona could keep hold of him.