Barcelona's Striker Search: Hamza Abdelkarim's Impressive Trial
Barcelona edge closer to sealing moves for Joao Cancelo and Rodri this week, but one problem still hangs over the club: there is no new striker in sight.
The chase for Julian Alvarez has stalled. Atletico Madrid have dug in, unwilling to lose one of their key attackers, and negotiations have barely moved. With the clock ticking on the window, Barcelona have been forced to widen the search.
Names like Viktor Gyokeres have surfaced. Big, expensive, headline-grabbing options. Yet inside the club, another idea has started to grow: look within. Look at Hamza Abdelkarim.
Hamza’s trial leaves a mark
According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, Hamza has made a striking impression from the moment he stepped onto the training pitch.
In his very first sessions, the young Egyptian showed what coaches crave in a No. 9: instinct. He found space, sniffed out chances, and finished them with the cold efficiency of a natural goalscorer.
Barcelona’s staff put him through a special finishing session to test just how real that promise was. He curled shots into the far corner, snapped onto loose balls at the near post, and treated every delivery as if it were a match-winning moment. One early header, hit with real power and perfect timing, reportedly stunned those watching and underlined the raw potential they were dealing with.
The tools are there. Power. Timing. Hunger.
Now the club are trying to shape all of that into a striker who fits their future.
Rewiring a modern No. 9
There is, however, one part of Hamza’s game that Barcelona have moved quickly to correct.
At the start of his trial, he watched how the team’s forwards often drop into midfield to link play. Naturally, he copied it. He came short, drifted away from the box, tried to knit moves together. It looked good at times, but it dragged him away from where he is most dangerous.
Pol Planas and his staff stepped in. The message was clear: leave the penalty area only when the play truly demands it.
They have backed that up with video work. Clips of Erling Haaland. Sequences from Viktor Gyokeres. Footage of Samuel Eto’o in a Barcelona shirt, living on the shoulder of the last defender and attacking every cross. The lesson is simple and relentless: stay in the box, stay central, stay threatening.
The philosophy around Hamza is being built in those sessions. Keep him close to goal. Keep him where his instincts can hurt teams. It is the same principle Hansi Flick is applying with him as he shapes the squad for the season ahead.
For a club still searching the market for a marquee striker, it is a tantalising thought: if the big move does not happen before the window closes, will Barcelona dare to lean on a young Egyptian who is learning, every day, how to become their ultimate No. 9?
