Teenage forward set to travel to Barcelona this week ahead of transfer announcement | OneFootball

In a major development, SPORT reports that the signing of Hamza Abdelkarim by Barcelona will be made official in the coming days.

The Catalan club and Al Ahly have already reached an agreement and have overcome the final obstacle that was delaying approval of the deal: the financial terms.

Everything is now in place for the young Egyptian player to become the latest addition to the Blaugrana reserve side for the second half of the season. In fact, he is expected to travel to Barcelona later this week.

Loan deal with a purchase option

Having lost strikers to injuries in the reserve team, Barcelona have been pushing to sign Abdelkarim for a while now, having been impressed with his performances at the U17 World Cup.

Despite some hurdles along the way, an agreement was finally reached between the Blaugrana and Al Ahly last week.

The cost of the loan will be €1.5 million, payable by Barcelona once Abdelkarim has played five matches with the reserve team. In addition, there could be up to a further €5 million in add-ons linked to performance-related bonuses.

Hamza Abdelkarim will arrive in Barcelona this week. (Picture credit: Instagram/@hamzabdelkarim)

These incentives would be based on factors such as the number of appearances for Barcelona’s first team, goals scored and other sporting objectives.

They would not be limited to the first year, but would extend throughout the full duration of the contract he signs with the club, thus guaranteeing Al Ahly a potentially significant financial return if all the variables are met.

Player’s insistence pays off

It must be noted that the pressure applied by Abdelkarim himself and his entourage has been decisive in ensuring the deal reaches a positive conclusion.

Al Ahly had been seeking to secure a contract renewal for their young prospect for a further three or four seasons before agreeing to the loan move to Barcelona.

That condition was firmly rejected by the player’s father, and the agreement has instead been reduced to a one-year contract extension prior to his loan move to the Blaugrana reserve team.

Abdelkarim is expected to pack his bags this week and head to Barcelona. Moreover, a video is currently being recorded in which the teenager thanks Al Ahly for their trust in him, which has enabled him to secure a move to Europe.