BarcelonaThe season of Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, Ez Abde, is not going unnoticed. Neither at Barça nor in the Premier League. From the Blaugrana dressing room, his transfer to Osasuna is evaluated very positively. The Navarrese team is comfortably (and deservedly) in eighth place in the League and has qualified for the Cup final, which they will play against Real Madrid. In Pamplona they are happy and Abde’s role has had a direct impact on the positive course of Jagoba Arrasate’s team.
He is a winger, one of those who challenge defenders by showing them and hiding the ball from them. This year he has participated in 22 League games (out of 29 possible) and in 5 more Cup games (out of 7). And he has been a starter in 17 (14 and 3). Six games have been missed due to injury or suspension. He has scored five goals and provided three assists, numbers that do not do justice to his incidence in Osasuna’s game. “We are happy with him, that next year we will have to see him on television,” said Arrasate this week, one of the driving forces behind his landing in Pamplona. Abde chose Navarre ahead of other teams such as Elche, the main club in the city where he grew up from the age of 7. Last weekend he scored the two goals of the triumph (2-1), precisely, against the illegal team. This Friday in Vallecas he played a discreet role (2-1).
Ez Abde is in fashion. From the Blaugrana dressing room they do not hide that, with Ousmane Dembélé out of action for almost three months, the Spanish-Moroccan would be a protagonist at Barça. “Now he would be a starter if we had him. He has the imbalance that we lack without Dembélé”, they admit to ARA from the Ciutat Esportiva. “He is doing very well at Osasuna. In the summer he will return, we will analyze it and see what we do with him. He can be an important piece for the future,” Xavi said publicly last week.
Abde’s starting price: between 20 and 25 million
The Morocco international is part of the club’s plans for next season, although, according to ARA, they are in a tight spot in the dressing room that will surely have to be overcome by financial emergencies. “We depend on fair playbut we will adapt”, they decide on the case of the winger. Barça must reduce the cost of its sports staff by 200 million euros this summer. Abde’s main market is in England and his price of output is around 20-25 million.
Barça, ready to negotiate his transfer, will study formulas so as not to lose sight of him completely, such as keeping a percentage of a future sale to a third team. The specialized portal Transfer market, which several clubs are considering, values the winger at eight million. His strong performance at Osasuna and his affordable price for most teams in English football make him a piece of cake for the Premier League.
Abde is represented by Integral Advising Football, an agency advised by Gestifute, the company of super agent Jorge Mendes. The Portuguese representative, very close to the president Joan Laporta, protects the future of several Barça youngsters such as Ansu Fati, Balde or Nico (on loan to Valencia). In addition, he also has in his portfolio the main pearl of the plant: Lamine Yamal.
Abde’s future also depends on what happens with Dembélé
The fact that Abde is transferable despite his good performance and that Xavi holds him in high regard can be explained by the fact that his sale would mean practically a net income: his signing – in the summer of 2021 – cost only two million. The player, born in 2001 in Beni Mellal (Morocco), left his country with his family – he is the youngest of three brothers – when he was seven years old to settle in Elche, in the Carrús neighborhood, one of the most humble of the city. He immediately started playing football, although he did not attract the attention of Hércules until the age of 17, when Abde was playing in the Second Regional.
He had to stay in the youth team, but Hércules quickly promoted him to the youth team. And in 2019 he made his debut with the first team. They rushed to renew Rico Pérez with a termination clause of two million. This is where Barça enters the scene. And, more specifically, Ramon Planes. The now former technical secretary, who had worked at Elche and is now at Getafe—Barça’s rival on Sunday—had been alerted by a friend of Abde’s irruption. Planes made several trips to see him play and also met him in person. Apart from Barça, he was also followed by Madrid, Betis and Levante.
Planes responded personally for the signing for Abde’s Blaugrana subsidiary and the club paid the two million of the clause. Barça was able to take it on thanks to the sale of Ilaix Moriba. Now, whether he can stay in Barcelona will largely depend on what happens with Dembélé. The contract of the Frenchman, who was able to be free for a few days last year, runs out in June 2024. Extending his bond means dealing again with an environment described by Barça sources as “amateur”. From the dressing room they refer to Dembélé’s good disposition: “We trust him, he is at ease here”, they conclude in ARA.