Barcelona in advanced talks to sign Egyptian gem as new offer tabled – report | OneFootball

Although Barcelona are not expected to do any major business in the upcoming January transfer window, the club are actively looking at hidden gems across the world.

The Catalans are keen on bolstering their ranks in the youth department, as they look to sustain the conveyor belt of talent coming from the youth teams.

Everything suggests Barça are well on their way to land one such prodigy in the form of Hamza Abdelkarim, an explosive forward dubbed as the next big thing in Egyptian football.

Barcelona are in advanced talks

According to Egyptian news outlet FilGoal, Barcelona are in advanced talks to sign Hamza Abdelkarim.

The youngster currently plies his trade for one of Egypt’s biggest clubs in Al Ahly, and was a regular for the Egyptian U17 team.

Hamza Abdelkarim will be a fine addition to Barcelona’s youth teams. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

At the age of just 17, Abdelkarim has already featured in four competitive matches for Al Ahly, but his future appears to be in Europe.

Talks between the two clubs have been going on for a while now, but Barcelona’s initial loan-to-buy proposals had been shot down by Al Ahly.

However, the report suggests Al Ahly are happy with Barcelona’s latest offer for the young forward as it meets the club’s demands. Therefore, it could only be a matter of time before the youngster joins the club.

Should he arrive, Abdelkarim will not be considered for the Barcelona first-team. Instead, the plan is for him to walk into the reserve team, Barça Atletic, who are facing a shortage of strikers due to injuries.

The coming days, therefore, could prove to be crucial as Barcelona look to complete the deal to sign the young Egyptian forward, who looks more than prepared to take the next step in his career.