Barcelona are being asked to double their offer for the 17-year-old striker
Barcelona’s interest in Egyptian talent Hamza Abdelkarim has been public in recent weeks, but it seems the Catalan club will struggle to reach an agreement for the teenage striker.
Abdelkarim, who turns 18 next week, is on the wish list for a January transfer, with the aim of strengthening Barca Atlètic’s satellite team.
Last week it was reported that Barcelona had submitted an offer to Al-Ahly, which could reach up to 4 million euros. However, it was a loan with an option to buy, with only 1 million euros guaranteed, while the rest was tied to objectives – an offer that Al-Ahly has rejected.
It was also reported that Al-Ahly were not satisfied with the terms proposed by Barcelona and it seems that there is still a significant gap in negotiations between the parties. According to Koraplus (via Sport), Al-Ahly are open to a loan until the summer, but are demanding an option to buy of €8m, of which €2m would be guaranteed – double the initial offer.
The Catalan daily adds that, at least for the moment, Barcelona are not planning to pay more than €4m for Abdelkarim, given that he has yet to make a mark in professional football. Barcelona are also willing to accept just 10% of the transfer fee in the event of a resale, while Al-Ahly are demanding 20% ??– a point that the Catalans have described as “non-negotiable”.
The young striker has also attracted interest from Olympique Lyon and Bayern Munich, but Abdelkarim seems determined to make a move to Barcelona. Last week it was reported that he was pushing hard for the transfer, and now Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the player has already given the green light to personal terms.
Barça Atlètic currently compete in the fourth division, while Juliano Belletti has been tasked with the mission of returning the team to the Primera RFEF. The team is currently without two key strikers, Víctor Barberá and Óscar Gistau, due to injuries. They are in fifth place, four points behind leaders Poblense, with just one place away from automatic promotion.
