There have been a lot of speculations and contrasting reports regarding the future of Barcelona youngster Ez Abde, following his impressive loan spell at CA Osasuna.
The 21-year-old Moroccan international has been with the Blaugrana since the summer of 2021, when he signed from Hercules CF. Brought in to strengthen the reserve team, the winger saw plenty of first-team minutes early in Xavi’s tenure as manager.
However, Abde was sent back to the reserves for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, before being loaned out to Osasuna last year.
The move to Pamplona worked out very well for the young forward as he finished with six goals and two assists in 34 games, helping them finish as runners-up in the Copa del Rey and secure European football for next season via a seventh-place finish in La Liga.
There have been reports claiming that Barcelona plan to rope him into first-team plans for next season, while some other media outlets have suggested that the Catalans intend to offload him for a good offer to help with their Financial Fair Play situation.
Now, though, a fresh report from Santi Aouna of Foot Mercato, Barcelona will keep Abde at the club next season and do not have any intentions to let him leave in the summer transfer window.
The La Liga champions have seen his development at Osasuna and believe that he is ready to play at the top level and that he will have an important role within the team next season.
However, with the Africa Cup of Nations coming up next year, there are some concerns within the player’s camp about his game-time as Abde will likely have to compete with Raphinha, Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati, and Ferran Torres (provided they stay), for minutes in attack.
As such, the Moroccan international’s agents are pushing for an exit in the summer, especially with Bayer Leverkusen showing an interest in him and making him a priority target. Abde himself wants regular minutes on the pitch, something that might not be guaranteed at Barça.
However, the club is clear on their stance, Abde will stay put and will not be sold. The Catalans plan to count on the youngster for the upcoming season and only a very big offer could lead them to consider sanctioning an exit.