Barcelona have returned three young players to Barca Atletic ahead of Sunday’s La Liga opener at Elche, while Hamza Abdelkarim remains with Hansi Flick’s first-team squad and is expected to travel for the match.
Jesse Bisiwy, Orian Goren and Ibrahima Tonkara were absent from Barcelona’s final training session at the Joan Gamper Sports City on Saturday morning after being assigned to Juliano Belletti’s reserve side.
Barca Atletic are due to face Vilanova in a friendly at 19:00 on Sunday, and the three players could be involved in that match.
The decision to move Jesse Bisiwy back to the reserve team is linked to a registration issue. The 18-year-old Belgian forward has yet to be registered by Barcelona for La Liga because of a bureaucratic matter relating to his visa.
Bisiwy joined Barcelona from Club Brugge during the summer transfer window. He will hold a licence with the reserve side, meaning he is eligible to play for Barca Atletic in their friendly against Vilanova if the club decide to select him.
Ibrahima Tonkara, a 16-year-old midfielder, had already joined up with Barca Atletic last Wednesday. He played in a closed-door friendly against Europa that morning, with Barcelona winning 1-0, before returning in the evening to feature for the first team in the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Al Ahly.
Goren, a 17-year-old midfielder, will now also join Barca Atletic after spending the recent period training with Flick’s senior squad. Both Goren and Tonkara remain youth-team players.
Abdelkarim stays in Flick’s plans
While the three players have been moved to the reserve side, several footballers holding Barca Atletic registrations continue to train under Flick. They are expected to be included in Barcelona’s travelling group for their opening league fixture at Elche.
The players still working with the first team include Hamza Abdelkarim, Xavi Espart, Alvaro Cortes, Brian Farinas and Jordi Pesquer, as well as goalkeeper Eder Aller.
Abdelkarim is hoping to make his official first-team debut after impressing during pre-season. His chances could increase because Barcelona have not signed any new forwards since the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.
The 18-year-old’s continued involvement with Flick’s squad marks a contrast with the decisions taken over Bisiwy, Goren and Tonkara, who have been sent back to Barca Atletic to continue their development and prepare for Sunday’s friendly.
Barcelona begin their La Liga campaign against Elche on Sunday evening. The final training session before that match took place without the three players who had featured in first-team sessions in recent days, confirming their temporary return to the reserve setup while Abdelkarim and the other Barca Atletic-registered players remain under consideration for the trip.
