Barcelona teenage forward absent from first-team training, works with reserve team

Barcelona teenage forward absent from first-team training, works with reserve team According to Mundo Deportivo , FC Barcelona teenage striker Hamza Abdelkarim did not train with the first-team squad under Hansi Flick today. Instead, the 18-year-old Egyptian starlet worked with Barça Atletic players under the command of Juliano Belletti. This comes as a major boost for the reserve team as the teenage prodigy appears is set to make his debut for them in their upcoming fixture against Utebo. Lack of minutes with first team Hamza was signed permanently by Barcelona in the summer, after impressing during his loan stint with Juvenil A during the second half of last season. The 18-year-old was drafted into the first-team squad for pre-season and stole the show, finishing as the top scorer with four goals. However, that has not translated into regular minutes once the season began. Set to play with the reserves. (Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images) Indeed, Hamza has played just 12 minutes for Barça fthis season, featuring for four minutes against Rayo Vallecano and eight against Getafe. After all, the likes of Raphinha, Gabriel Jesus, and even Dani Olmo are ahead of the young striker in the pecking order. Raphinha’s return hurts chances Raphinha’s return from a minor injury ahead of the match against Real Betis has reduced the need for Abdelkarim to remain with the senior squad. Barcelona, though, recognise that the young forward needs regular competitive minutes to build up his match fitness.  As such, he is now expected to make his first appearance for Barça Atletic, for whom he is registered.  Will Hamza start for Barça Atletic? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) Barça Atletic head into Saturday’s seventh league fixture aiming to remain top of Segunda Federacion and maintain their impressive start to the season. The Blaugrana reserves have won four consecutive matches and five of their six league fixtures so far. They have been productive in attack, scoring 13 goals in those six games, and will now be further boosted by the availability of a talented forward like Hamza as they take on Utebo at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. The Egyptian wonderkid, for his part, will welcome the chance to get some minutes under his belt, having been starved of playing time under Flick.