One day into 2026, one signing for Barcelona. After a week or so of links, Al Ahly striker Hamza Abdelkarim seems set to be Barcelona’s new striker, signing on a loan for six months with a buy option of 1.5m that can increase to 5m with addons. The question is this – is Abdelkarim the answer for Barcelona’s imminent #9 problem that they’ll face ahead of next season, or is this a signing of a poor, raw talent, similar to Roque?
Well, young strikers are almost always raw talent, look at skill compilations of any great striker at the start of their career – Erling Haaland at Molde, for instance – and see that they look nowhere near the world class star they turned into. It’s no different for Abdelkarim, who, while looking raw, has shown instances of great skill in his time at the Al Ahli youth team and Egypt U17s.
The world seems to be going through a striker void right now, with the previous generation’s star strikers, such as Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero, and Robert Lewandowski growing old and phasing themselves out of the game one by one. While this generation has stars like Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland, there’s really nothing past that. Alvarez? Maybe. Dembele? Not a natural striker. Lautaro? Meh.
I think the type of business Barcelona’s doing is the right kind, rather than spunking a load of change on a massive name who might flop, and take away our ability to fix our centerback issue, we should sign a few younger stars and see if they have futures here. We could also rely on some La Masia talent, once their time comes, some of the names that I’m thinking on that front could be:
Toni Fernandez, 17, made his debut vs Girona, good talent
Oscar Gistau, 17, in the B-Team, decent player
Fode Diallo, 13, scored 97 in 30 games for U12s last year, broke Yamal’s record
Divine Ejiofor, 14, promising striker in Barca’s U15 team
Destiny Kosiso, 11, brother of Ejiofor, even more promising striker in Barca’s youth ranks
If any of these five could turn out world class, Barca’s issues are solved. However, that could take some time, especially with Kosiso, so what in the meantime? Why not take some chances on guys like Abdelkarim? There aren’t many elite striker prospects right now in football, so why not get the scouting team to work and sign some of their recommendations? They have recommended in that past that Barca sign Haaland before he broke out at Salzburg and Julian Alvarez while still at River, so they have pedigree.
There are also rumours that Barcelona are looking into out-of-contract Juve forward Dusan Vlahovic on a free this summer, and initial talks have taken place with his camp. It’s definitely not the most attractive signing, but it’s an intriguing one, and even if he flops, we can still sell him on in a year’s time for a 100% profit, and potentially sign a better striker whose contract expires in 2027, such as Harry Kane or Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Until Barca’s back to their full financial power, in who knows how many years, stop gap solutions may be the necessity. They’d have to once again use the scouting team to find someone who would work well with Raphinha and Yamal and create a striker rotation with Ferran Torres. Torres, while he’s very good, I don’t think quite has the chops to be the undisputed #1 striker, especially in big matches, where I believe he’s best off the bench.
All in all, I believe that Hamza Abdelkarim is the first in a long list of names Barca will throw at the wall to try and find their Lewandowski replacement. I hope he works out, but it may take a while, and a couple loan spells away. Take Vitor Roque, for instance. As a 19 year old, very raw at Barca, found a loan away to Betis which was cut short after failing to impress, but is now ripping it up back in Brazil, and could have been another name to try for the #9 position had he not been sold permanently. With two more years of experience and development, Roque could be ready to take another swing in Europe. This is why I believe Barca should keep Abdelkarim for a few years, as even if his loan spell doesn’t go great, 1.5m isn’t much, and if he can be developed well over 3/4 years, he might just have it. Keep in mind, you don’t see strikers break out before their 20s much, and you might have to wait years and years until you see returns. Harry Kane’s breakout season was at 21, after loans away at Leicester and Norwich. Robert Lewandowski’s breakout year was at 23. Luis Suarez’s breakout year in a top league was at 25. You can’t expect greatness straight away. Give Abdelkarim time – and I believe he’ll prove the doubters wrong. I’m Jim James, until next time.