Calm reigns at Barcelona: Hamza Abdelkarim gives the board the luxury of waiting for Álvarez | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 02 Aug 2026 | Lesezeit: 3 Minuten

Barcelona are moving towards relying on the young Egyptian forward Hamza Abdel Karim, 18, as one of the alternative solutions to fill the void left by the Polish international Robert Lewandowski, at a time when the file to sign Argentina's Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid remains suspended without resolution.

According to Spanish newspaper "Sport", head coach Hansi Flick has shown great admiration for Abdel Karim's performances during pre-season, especially after he scored both of Barcelona's goals in the friendly against Birmingham City. That has boosted his chances of remaining within the first-team squad.

A promising Egyptian talent

Abdel Karim already featured at the World Cup with Egypt despite his tender years. He is now one of the most prominent young talents Barcelona are counting on to compensate for Lewandowski's departure, alongside new arrival Jesse Bisiwu.

Both are young, but Flick believes they are capable of adding something to the team when needed, especially given that Barcelona possess a varied attacking line featuring Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Ferran Torres, plus Dani Olmo, who can play as a false nine.

Such faith in Abdel Karim comes as Barcelona face great difficulties signing a world-class out-and-out striker. Lewandowski is one of the best scorers of the modern era, and a replacement of his level is rarely available in the current transfer market.

The Alvarez file suspended

Barcelona are still waiting on the Alvarez case to be resolved. They submitted an offer worth 100 million euros for the Atletico Madrid forward and have received no reply from the Madrid club so far.

Instead of responding to the offer, Barcelona faced public complaints from Atletico Madrid via a campaign on social media and statements from officials Miguel Angel Gil Marin and Enrique Cerezo, which were also documented in an official lawsuit.

This week, Atletico Madrid lodged an official complaint against Barcelona with the Spanish Football Federation and FIFA. The Catalan club's lawyers are currently reviewing the case to prepare their legal response, while the matter remains under investigation.

Alvarez insists on leaving

Alvarez himself made his position clear during the World Cup, stating his desire for his current team to negotiate his move in the belief that this was best for all parties. He confirmed his time at Atletico Madrid was over and that he wanted to fulfil his dream of wearing the Blaugrana shirt.

Atletico Madrid ignored the Argentine's request and are still refusing to negotiate. The date of 10 August may prove decisive, as the forward is scheduled to return to training that day.

Those close to Alvarez say the player still feels the Madrid club deceived him after promising to negotiate his departure, which further complicates the situation.

Barcelona look for alternatives without haste

Barcelona have tried to make contact with other stars to fill the void left by Lewandowski. Although sporting director Deco is looking for options in the market, the Catalan club are still waiting for the Alvarez file to be resolved. If the Argentine does not join in the end, there will be no haste in signing a replacement, especially with Abdel Karim and Bisiwu as promising options that can be relied upon.

Flick believes he has a high-quality attack capable of competing for all titles, provided no player leaves the current attacking line. That gives Barcelona relative calm in dealing with the out-and-out striker file during the rest of the summer transfer window.

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