Barcelona’s summer spending has been headlined by the arrivals of Rodri and Anthony Gordon, but a third, far quieter signing has quickly begun making a case of his own.
Jesse Bisiwu joined from Club Brugge for around €8.5million on a five-year deal running until 2031, with the Belgians retaining a 20 per cent sell-on clause as part of the agreement.
It was a fee that raised eyebrows given the 18-year-old had never made a single senior appearance for Brugge, but Barcelona’s scouting department, led by Deco and Joao Amaral, had been tracking him for months before finally getting the deal done.
Jesse Bisiwu has wasted little time making an impression since arriving in Catalonia, scoring twice against FC Basel during pre-season and training regularly alongside Hansi Flick’s first-team squad.
Those performances appeared to be building towards a possible senior bow against Elche this weekend, with Flick reportedly considering him as a second-half option.
That debut will now have to wait, with a registration issue ruling Bisiwu out of contention for the trip to the Martinez Valero.
According to SPORT, the teenager cannot be registered in time for the fixture because of a bureaucratic matter, despite Flick’s willingness to include him in his matchday squad.
Barcelona aren’t said to be particularly concerned by the situation, with the issue expected to be resolved soon, after which Bisiwu should once again become available for first-team selection.
In the meantime, the winger trained with Barca Atletic on Saturday rather than with Flick’s senior group, with Orian Goren and Ebrima Tunkara also involved in that session and similarly set to miss out against Elche.
Bisiwu’s rise has been a rapid one by any standard, having signed his first professional contract with Brugge at just 15 and later becoming one of the youngest players in Belgian football history when he debuted for Club NXT in the country’s second tier.
He first caught wider attention at the 2025 European Under-17 Championship, earning a place in the Team of the Tournament as Belgium reached the semi-finals.
Speaking after putting pen to paper on his move, Bisiwu described the transfer as “a dream come true,” reflecting on childhood ambitions of playing for a club like Barcelona.
The plan for this season is for Bisiwu to be registered with Barca Atletic while remaining closely involved with Flick’s first-team plans, a pathway the Belgian will hope leads to regular senior football before too long.
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