Barcelona ‘fear’ Hamza's participation against South Sudan | OneFootball

Barcelona are anxious about Hamza Abdelkarim featuring for Egypt against South Sudan on Tuesday, with Mohamed Salah missing and the match on an artificial pitch. He is expected to start. According to Sport, the club hope the 18-year-old avoids injury as he is now part of their plans.

The forward, 18, impressed in pre-season and has broken into Egypt’s senior set-up, drawing strong market interest. Barcelona moved quickly, turning an initial loan into a permanent signing, then renewing his deal and increasing his release clause.

Leading agencies have jostled to represent him and recent weeks have brought heightened activity. Even so, Barcelona remain calm, with relations strong with his camp and his family pleased with the move.

Game time has been scarce, just 5 minutes against Rayo Vallecano, while Raphinha’s shift to centre forward and Gabriel Jesus’s arrival limit openings. The club’s plan is to give him 10 to 15 first-team appearances this season to manage his development.

Several loan offers are expected in January, though the shared aim is to keep his progress in-house unless he pushes for more minutes over fears of stalling, which has not happened. Patience in Egypt is wearing thin over his lack of minutes.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”