Barcelona coach: Hamza Abdel Karim deserves La Liga chance

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has said that Egyptian striker Hamza Abdel Karim deserves an opportunity to play in La Liga, while acknowledging the difficulty of giving every player game time.

Speaking to the media ahead of Monday’s third-round match against Rayo Vallecano, Flick said: “It’s not easy to give every player a chance to play. Hamza performed excellently during pre-season and is improving day by day in training.”

The German coach added about the 18-year-old Egyptian: “He has the right mentality and certainly deserves to play. And he will play. We need to give him minutes and a chance to show his abilities in a La Liga match.”

Hamza missed the first two rounds, remaining on the bench, despite finishing as Barcelona’s top scorer during pre-season preparations.

Following Robert Lewandowski’s move to Major League Soccer and Ferran Torres’ transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, Hamza was expected to lead Barcelona’s attack until a more experienced striker is signed, as talks to bring in Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid have yet to reach an agreement.

According to Asharq, Flick has relied on Brazilian winger Raphinha, Barcelona’s new captain, in the striker’s role, and he has impressed the coach.

Flick explained: “Why is Raphinha playing as a number 9? Because the number 9 is always the first to press, and he does it excellently. He is one of our leaders and is performing brilliantly. He is a very important player for us. He can play in this position, as can others like Fermín López, who played there recently.”

Barcelona defeated Elche 5-0, then beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the second round, scoring seven goals in two matches without conceding, marking a strong start to their La Liga title defense.