Barcelona have offloaded key members of their attacking line, so who exactly is going to lead the line for the Catalans this season?

The summer transfer window is edging ever closer to its conclusion and Barcelona still don't have a recognised striker in their ranks to lead the line for Hansi Flick as they look to win a third straight La Liga title.

Robert Lewandowski has gone to the Chicago Fire in the MLS and Ferran Torres has just completed his move to Paris Saint-Germain for just under €50 million.

Marcus Rashford has also returned to Manchester United after a solid loan spell with the Catalan giants.

Even with the additions of Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United and Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona still don't have a natural striker to call upon.

Neither Gordon nor Adeyemi is a traditional No.9, however, leaving Flick without a natural focal point through the middle.

Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez has been linked with a move to Barcelona, but his future remains uncertain as Atletico's stance has not changed as they don't want to negotiate his exit with a rival La Liga club.

Could Hamza Abdelkarim Become Barcelona’s No.9 Solution?

According to Sport, there is a possibility that Flick could turn to youngster Hamza Abdelkarim, who scored in the second half of Barcelona's recent friendly win over FC Basel.

The Egyptian impressed with Barca's U19s while on loan from Al Ahly and made his move to Barcelona's reserves permanent this summer.

Barcelona are planning to rotate the youngster between the reserves and senior squad this season, but if the club is unable to find a recognised striker to fill the void left by Lewandowski and Torres, Abdelkarim could become a realistic option for Flick alongside the possibility of using different wingers in the false-nine position.

As far as experience is concerned, Abdelkarim does not have a wealth of top-level European experience, but the 18-year-old was called up to the Egyptian national team at the World Cup by manager Hossam Hassan.

While he wasn't ever used in any of Hassan's starting lineups, the youngster made four appearances, playing 56 minutes in total as a substitute in Egypt's historic run to the round of 16, where they controversially lost to eventual finalists Argentina.

How Hansi Flick Could Solve Barcelona’s No.9 Problem

If Barcelona are unable to sign a replacement striker before the end of the transfer window, Flick will have to work with the attacking options already at his disposal.

He still has plenty of attacking options, having the likes of Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Gordon, Adeyemi, and Abdelkarim to use as wingers and/or central attackers with the absence of a true, natural number 9.

All of those players can operate in a more central attacking role, even if it is not their natural position, if not a false 9 altogether.

Flick will have to get that rotational balance right, something he experienced during his time as Germany manager, where he often used Kai Havertz as a centre-forward before the role became more common under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

During his time with Die Mannschaft, Timo Werner and Niclas Fullkrug were really the only natural strikers he had to choose from, neither of whom were in consistent runs of form for their respective clubs at the time.