Barcelona set to reward Hamza Abdelkarim after impressive preseason | OneFootball

Although it is the big signings like Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Joao Cancelo, and Rodri Hernandez that have taken most of the spotlight at FC Barcelona during this summer transfer window, another new arrival who is already exciting the Blaugrana fans is the young forward Hamza Abdelkarim.

The youngster spent the second half of the last season with the Barcelona youth team, and the Blaugranes, impressed with his performances and talent, signed him permanently this summer for €1.5 million fixed fees and another €5 million in variables from the Egyptian side Al-Ahly.

It has only been some weeks since that signing, but apparently, the Catalans are already very impressed with the player, and want to protect him as much as they can. This is clear from a report from SPORT, which cites Jijantes to claim that Barcelona want to give Abdelkarim a new contract, despite his current contract going till 2029.

The main purpose of this renewal will be to increase his release clause, from €15 million to €150 million. Meanwhile, his salary will also receive a similar increase.

Signing permanently for Barcelona was not the only highlight of the forward’s summer, as he was also called up by the Egyptian national team for the World Cup, and played in five of his team’s six games. Right after the World Cup, he returned to train with the Blaugrana first team, and showcased his talents firsthand to Hansi Flick during the team’s training camp in England.

During this tour, he scored a brace against Birmingham City in a training game. He was once again on the scoresheet during the Joan Gamper Trophy game against his former side Al-Ahly. With these three goals, he remained the highest scorer for the Catalan team during the preseason.

Going forward into the season, he will have a good chance to get a good amount of minutes with the first team, as there is no natural center-forward present in the first team. Thus, it will be a good decision if Barcelona decide to increase his release clause beforehand, just to ensure they do not face any problems if he ends up exploding next season.