Barcelona signs Besoiu; Flick praises Abdul Karim

Barcelona, the Spanish football champions, have signed young Belgian winger Jesse Biesei on a contract until 2031, following his transfer from Club Brugge, where he had been playing for the reserve team in Belgium’s second division.

Barcelona did not disclose the transfer fee, but local media reported that the deal is worth approximately 8.5 million euros ($9.9 million), with Club Brugge set to receive a 20% stake in any future sale of the player.

The 18-year-old Biesei will become only the third Belgian player in Barcelona’s history to wear the club’s shirt, following Fernand Goyvaerts in the 1960s and Thomas Vermaelen in more recent years. Biesei is also the third signing by the La Liga champions to bolster their attack, after previously acquiring English forward Anthony Gordon and German striker Karim Adeyemi.

Meanwhile, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick praised young Egyptian player Hamza Abdelkrim after his standout performance in a friendly match against English side Birmingham City, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Abdelkrim scored both of Barcelona’s goals, the first from a penalty in the 42nd minute and the second from a rebound off the goalkeeper in the 60th minute.

Speaking after the match, Flick said, “I think Abdelkrim is very humble. He has a good personality and an excellent mindset. He possesses great, indeed immense, potential. A striker must always be in the right place. If an opportunity arises inside the penalty area, he needs to be there, and that’s exactly what he did. This will give him a lot of confidence in the coming week.”

He added, “You can see that he has great potential, as do many players. What matters most to me is that they show quality in their performances, and I appreciate that greatly. The quality is good, as is the enthusiasm and atmosphere within the team among these young players. It’s a pleasure to work with them.”